Albus Severus and the Family Tree
by CerysCassandraDewar
Summary: Follows the next generation during their first year at Hogwarts. Follows Canon but hopefully will hold a few surprises for you. Centers around Albus Severus Potter and his closest friends. Enjoy, and please comment/constructively criticize if you'd like.
1. Chapter 2

**"Albus Severus and the Family Tree"**

Chapter One

Albus Severus Potter watched his parents get smaller and smaller as the train sputtered away from platform nine and three quarters. He was off to his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with his favorite cousin and best female friend, Rose Weasley. Albus was a shy child who had never made friends very easily, and was reassured by Rose's presence in the compartment. Rose had whipped "Hogwarts, a History" out of her bag as soon as she lost sight of her parents, and was now filling Albus in on a few trivial facts, unknowingly sounding exactly like her mother.

Albus gazed out the window as the Scottish highlands flashed by, too fast for his liking. For Albus, despite having longed for this moment from the first time he had visited Hogwarts with his famous father, was dreading his first evening in the castle. For one, his shy nature could not imagine how he would cope with all the staring. He hadn't noticed till he was about six that wherever he went, all magical eyes followed him with interest. How could they not? He was the mirror image of his father, with untidy black hair that stuck up in every direction and a pair of brilliant emerald eyes that supposedly were just like his grandmothers. In the photos of her that Albus had seen, her eyes sparkled, as his fathers did. Albus' eyes were quiet and thoughtful, especially while pondering a few things.

His second issue was being away from his parents for the first time, with no one to look out for him but his older cousins and the doubtful protection of his older brother, James, who was popular due to his daring, outgoing nature, his good looks, and his father's fame, which he took advantage of as often as possible. Albus had never been able to find an opportunity to shine with such a brother around, and was sure to fade into the background at school. Every time Albus had met anyone on the train, the first question after names were exchanged was, "oh, you're Potter's brother! See you in Gryffindor!", which never failed to make his blood run cold and his stomach leap like a Chocolate Frog trying to escape.

For his third and most pressing fear about Hogwarts resided in a moldy looking old hat that creased to look like a very miserable, very ancient face. The famous Sorting Hat of Hogwarts. There were four houses at Hogwarts, but Albus wasn't sure where he would belong.

He knew that Ravenclaw would never be a home for him, due to the fact that he did not necessarily enjoy books, spending more of his time sitting alone outdoors. He felt most at home sitting beneath a particular oak tree, large and aged, that hid him from sight and _spoke to him._ Albus had never told anyone about this, because he felt that his friendship with the oak, which spoke to him in feelings rather than words, was something very personal and all his own. Something that his brother did not have.

Huffelpuff, he felt, was the house he would probably be stuck in, because he was so quiet and self conscious. He had never heard of any greatness coming from that house, but felt that perhaps that was the only place where someone as ordinary as he was, despite his famous father, belonged.

But there were expectations waiting at home for his first letter. His whole family had been in Gryffindor, for three generations, and he had never been verbally pressured, but knew without a doubt that everyone fully expected him to be sorted there. But he wasn't sure that he wanted to be there. For one, he felt that he didn't even come close to belonging in such a famous and brave house. And another doubt that had been pricking his heart for weeks now was that he was tired of following his brother around. James was a good brother most times but was also capable of being an arrogant prat, and Albus felt that if he could only be sorted somewhere other than Gryffindor, he could have a fresh start and perhaps create his own personality instead of becoming his father all over again. He adored his father, but he longed to become his own person, no matter how ordinary that person would be.

He had researched all of the houses' history (Rose would've died of shock to know that he knew more than her about the non Gryffindor houses) and had found himself drawn to the house with the silver and emerald serpent on it's banners. He and Rose had discovered when he was four years old that he could talk to snakes after he'd had a long and surprisingly satisfying conversation with a Gardener Snake in his parent's yard, and had an affinity for serpents after that. Rose had thought that he was just playing make believe, and he never told her or anyone else anything different, feeling that it was somehow something he should keep to himself. It was only a year ago that he'd overheard his Uncle Ron tease his father about his parselmouth that Albus had learnt that his father had also had this ability. But despite this knowledge, his father had still been staunchly Gryffindor, and despite his father's speech on the platform, Albus wasn't certain if his father was being completely honest. For Albus remembered something his father had once told him about the Sorting Hat. How in his first year, he had begged the hat not to be in Slytherin.

_Slytherin._ The word seeped off the tongue in a way that Albus felt came so naturally. James had taunted him constantly that he would end up there, and as much as he had initially dreaded it, wanting to stick to the easy and familiar choice of Gryffindor that he knew would make his family proud, he felt himself wondering if it would really be all that bad if he was sorted there. He didn't want to ask the hat any favours. He resolved then and there that he would just let the hat decide for him, and that wherever he ended up, he would somehow show that he was Albus Severus. Not Harry Potter, and certainly not James Potter!

"...and the ceiling of the great hall has only shown a full eclipse once, during one of Develayn the Dark's black moods in his third year at Hogwarts...Albus, are you even listening to me? How can you possibly be more interested in what's out that window? Albus???" Rose was impatiently scowling at him across the compartment and Albus couldn't help but feel a little bad, no matter how bossy she was being. "Sorry Rosie, I must have been daydreaming again." Albus considered himself lucky that Rose had decided not to press the issue and re-read the entire book to him while he was imprisoned in the compartment, and then realized why. They were at their final platform, and Rose, eyes sparkling, was barely holding back a squeal beneath her prim appearance. "First years this way!" shouted the voice of Hagrid from outside the train, where Albus knew the magical boats were lined up nearby. His stomach turned somersaults again as he stepped off the train into the crowd of children his own age.

Hagrid's large form stood far above the mob of first years, and Albus couldn't help but see a mental picture of a mountain in the middle of a prairie. As Hagrid lurched into one of the little boats, Albus couldn't help but worry that the boat wouldn't be able to hold the greying half giant for very far. For Hagrid had gained some weight in the peaceful years following the war. His wife, whom Albus was allowed to call Madame Maxime, was also an excellent cook, and Hagrid was making up for many years of eating his very aptly named Rock Cakes.

As Albus clambered into one of the boats fearfully, he noticed a boy sitting near the back of the boat, who looked positively frightened. The boy had a small pointed white face, almost like an elf's, and shockingly white blond hair, which was neatly combed back. His enormous pale blue eyes gazed at the floor, and Albus could almost swear he had seen a tear glittering on his cheek. The boy noticed Albus' interested gaze and suddenly glared at him, defiantly wiping the tear away and then looking back down at his feet. Albus was puzzled by the boy's behavior but felt bad for him, and was tempted to go sit with him, when Rose suddenly grabbed the crook of his arm and dragged him to a seat beside her. "Why were you going over there, Albus? Aren't you going to sit with me?" she asked, but then followed her cousin's gaze to the back of the boat. "Albus, don't you remember who that is? That's _Scorpius Malfoy _sitting over there! You don't want to sit with him, his dad was a death eater and your father's worst enemy!".

Albus couldn't help but wonder why that should matter. He couldn't imagine the terrified boy being anyone's enemy, no matter how fierce he could glare at anyone who'd caught him crying. For the first time ever, he found himself annoyed with his cousin and wanted to tell her that he would sit wherever he wanted to. But when he opened his mouth and drew a breath to speak, one of the girls in the boat stood up and exclaimed, "Oh look everyone, it's so beautiful!"

Albus somehow walked out of the boat and forgot everything in his mind as he gazed up at the high towers and strong gates of Hogwarts Castle. His first year at Hogwarts had just officially begun.


	2. Chapter 3

**"Albus Severus and the Family Tree"**

Chapter Two

Professor McGonagall stepped into the light at the top of the staircase, almost in front of the doors to the great hall. She'd been standing in the shadows watching the first years file in, resisting the urge to crane her neck in the search for the new faces she was expecting to see. She felt like she'd been waiting for this moment forever. Her eyes rested on a pale blond boy at the back of the crowd, a completely isolated soul already, even though she knew he couldn't possibly have spoken to anyone. She knew that Scorpius, though well loved by his parents, was an insecure little thing, and her motherly heart reached out to him instinctively. _It's alright, laddie, you're safe here. I won't let anyone hurt you. I know the truth about your family. And about you.._ Her eyes twinkled as Scorpius' head snapped up to where she stood, his face astonished but also excited.

Ah, so he heard and understood her. This would make her job so much easier. It was always such a bother to explain herself to a child who'd been frightened out of their wits by hearing her voice inside their head. She hated the wasted time spent in the hospital wing convincing a student that they hadn't gone mad. This one was such a blessing. He would help her find the others, after he'd found his strength. It didn't surprise her that he already knew. His father would've told him the family secret a long time ago.

Leaving Scorpius to his thoughts with a slightly more hopeful expression on his face, she had then seen two girls with inky black hair standing and whispering together. She didn't need help finding them. The aura around them practically screamed out to her senses. Then another boy, this one with ordinary features but a dreamy look in his eyes. She had always known that Neville and Luna's son would have the right type of magic about him. Then her eyes had found their goal. Another boy, this one with unkempt black hair and quiet emerald eyes, gripping a redheaded girl's hand tightly. She saw great brilliance in Rose's aura, but her heart sang at the sight of Albus' nervous eyes. There he was. Now, to see if he would grow into the promise that she hoped for...

The children had grown completely silent by then, and she spoke, the same speech she had used since her disastrous first day as a professor at her beloved school. That first day, she had made up a long and superfluous speech, and when she'd faced the children, promptly realized how silly it was. Grimacing at the memory, she welcomed the children to Hogwarts, went over the first rules, and directed them to the great hall. As the headmistress, she was not required to do this duty anymore, but she had firmly stated that she didn't see any reason not to continue doing so and was left to it. This was the best opportunity to see the new students and she wasn't about to pass it up.

Following the crowd into the hall, Albus couldn't help but feel excited, even with the Sorting looming in his very near future. He stood with the rest of the first years as the hat was brought out with it's high stool. The hat looked even more mangy than ever, if possible, and Albus imagined in his fear that it was scowling at him. He wished that he could just wake up after it was all over.

By the time they had reached the "F's", nobody had been sorted into Slytherin. It seemed that there were hardly any of them at all anymore. Albus supposed that it was because the wizarding world had such bad associations with the house since the rise and fall of Lord Voldemort, formerly Tom Riddle. He found himself feeling that it was hardly fair that nobody had every really noticed that good that came from that house as well. Albus had read about all of them, including a certain black haired potions professor that his Uncle Ron cheerfully called "the greasy git" when he thought Albus wasn't around. For Albus had been named after Severus Snape, and felt a special affinity for him after all he'd read about him and hearing his father call him "one of the bravest wizards he'd ever known". Albus wished that Snape was still alive. He felt somehow that he might've found a kindred soul behind the fierce black eyes he had seen in old newspaper clippings.

Suddenly, his thoughts were cut short as he noticed the boy named Scorpius timidly perched on the Sorting Hat's stool, with the Sorting Hat on his head, covering his eyes but not his mouth, which was trembling. Albus felt awful for the boy who was even more scared than he was. Then the Hat cried "SLYTHERIN!" joyfully, and Scorpius practically flew to the Slytherin table and sat at the far end. The others sitting at the table seemed to move further away from him, but Albus tried to convice himself that he had only imagined it.

A few more names called, and finally the moment had come. His mouth went as dry as the dryest desert when he heard his name called. It felt like an eternity as he walked from his spot beside Rose to the stool. He somehow managed to climb up into the seat and he squeezed his eyes shut as the hat was placed on his head. He cringed as he imagined the hat devouring his soul, and was so frightened that he almost didn't hear it whisper to him...

_So....another Potter, eh? I guess I know where you're hoping to go..._ the Hat offered in a sly, sneaky voice, _Three generations of Potters in Gryffindor, so why not you as well? Certainly not the wisdom of Ravenclaw but definitely too colorful a history for Huffelpuff...but I've got a great idea of where you could belong if you'll let me choose for you...it might even be fun._ Albus stubbornly said nothing. He was not going to consort with miserable, mangy old hats today or any other day. He knew the Hat wouldn't wait forever anyways. It seemed at that moment that the Hat breathed a sigh, almost of relief, and cried, "SLYTHERIN!!!"

Albus, shaking in every bone in his body, began his journey over to the cheering Slytherin table, but stole a furtive glance at the Gryffindor table where almost his entire life was seated. On the faces of his family were looks of shock, and Albus felt a small thrill at having inspired such a strong reaction, but then his eyes travelled over to Rosie, who had tears in her eyes and a trembling bottom lip. Albus fled to the Slytherin table with a heavy heart and sat himself in the darkest corner, directly across from Scorpius, who glared at him once again. Albus, feeling wretched, watched as Rosie, the last child on the list, sat on the stool, still prim despite her momentary emotional outburst, her hands folded nervously in her lap. The hat seemed to smile a little, and proclaimed loudly and joyfully, "RAVENCLAW!!!"

Rosie, looking a little regretful but losing the battle to her curiosity, approached the Ravenclaw table and joined Andrew Longbottom, a family friend, there. Albus was relieved that Rosie wasn't totally surrounded by strangers, as he was. He wished, however, that she would look over at him and reassure him with her eyes and a smile, to tell him that he would be ok...that she still cared about him...even if he was a Slytherin.


	3. Chapter 1

**"Albus Severus and the Family Tree"**

Chapter Three

Albus woke up, and it took a moment for him to adjust to his surroundings. There were six beds in the dormitory, all draped in emerald velvet embossed with silver serpents. Then he remembered the Sorting, and everything that happened after that. He'd eaten very little during the feast, even though the food was tempting, and had noticed that Scorpius didn't seem very hungry either. After the feast they'd been herded away to their common room and dormitories, and Albus had caught one last glimpse of his family and friends as he followed the rest of his house. He had headed straight to bed, hoping to have a solitary moment to think everything over, only to find that Scorpius had done the same. But Scorpius didn't seem any friendlier this time, so he had thought things over and bolstered himself up enough to sleep, if a bit brokenly.

Now as Albus dressed in his robes and tidied his area of the dorm, he met his room mates. There was Scorpius, whom he hadn't had a chance to talk to, as he seemed to have woken up earlier than everyone else, and then four other boys. There was a short, roundish boy with malicious looking eyes whose name was Gerald Parkinson, a very average looking boy named Kevlin Finnegan, a tidy, dark boy named Blaise Zabini III, and a sandy haired boy named Hayden Smith. Albus was a little wary of them but was unfailingly polite and felt it would only be fair to give them a fair chance.

At breakfast that morning, his family seemed to ignore him completely, so he steadied his nerves for a while before touching any of his food, and as a result didn't have time to eat very much. He sat across from Scorpius, who had his nose buried in a book, and Albus wondered if he was a genius like Rosie or simply wanted an excuse to not have to talk to anyone. Albus decided to leave him in peace, and ate a piece of toast before heading off to his first class of the day, Potions.

Albus enjoyed practicing simple potions at home. He loved the sight and smell of the ingredients as they layered in his small cauldron, and he liked the practicality of it. Potions didn't seem to require any special talent except for the ability to read and follow the instructions. He looked up to see the Potions professor, a short, wiry man with a frizzled grey goatee and piercing hazel eyes that looked like an eagle's. Professor Emerus was a serious but zealous Potions master, and Albus found that the class flew by far too quickly. He'd been paired up with Kevlin at a desk and cauldron, and had found himself impatient with Kevlin's lack of enthusiasm through the whole lesson. He did his best to conceal his impatience, but was embarrased to discover that Professor Emerus had seen most of it.

His second class of the day was Charms, which the Slytherins shared with Gryffindor. He felt relieved that none of his friends or family were in the first year in that house, but was then startled to notice the puzzled looks he recieved from the other side of the room. It seemed that his family weren't the only Gryffindors avoiding him. Professor Flitwick, a rather aged little fellow, was an excellent if sometimes flighty instructor, and Albus had enjoyed being able to really use his new wand, which was a twelve inch white oak wand with a unicorn hair core. It had been positively maddening hearing about it in James' letters the past couple of years.

Defense against the Dark Arts was his next class, and he had been excited to see one of his father's friends, Professor Cho Chang, leading the class. Professor Chang was a quiet teacher who explained things really well, and had been a member of Dumbledore's Army, a group that had battled in the war. She was short and slim, with short bobbed raven hair and magical scars across her left cheek. She had seen alot and done alot and had lost many friends in the war, and there was a sad look in her eyes whenever she looked at a small picture frame on her desk. Albus heard that Professor Chang had been an amazing Quidditch player, but had retired once she turned thirty. A few of the students thought she was a little strange, but Albus liked Professor Chang.

He saw Rosie in his last class of the day, Herbology, where she and Andrew huddled together working earnestly with nimbromacula seedlings, which looked like knobby cactuses. Andrew had thrown Albus an apologetic but friendly look, but Rosie hadn't looked his way once. Albus felt wretched, wishing he could talk with her about all the things he was learning to do in his classes. He brushed away a few traitor tears in his eyes, and when he looked up, he saw Scorpius looking at him in a shocked manner. Scorpius quickly looked the other way, but Albus had noticed and resolved to introduce himself properly as soon as he had the chance.

He had his chance that night at dinner in the great hall. He sat himself down directly across from Scorpius, which was unfortunately still isolated, the rest of the house clustered as far away as they could sit, seemingly. Albus overcame his shyness and extended his hand with what he hoped was a convincingly friendly smile on his face. "Hi, I'm Albus. You're Scorpius, right?"

Scorpius looked up, the shocked look painting his features once again. He seemed to struggle for a moment, and had even narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Albus for a few moments, but finally said, "That's right. Scorpius Malfoy," in a way that made Albus think that the boy was trying to scare him. But Albus didn't see any reason to be scared, despite all he'd heard about the Malfoy family. "I'm glad to meet you, Scorpius. Did you like the classes today?". He figured that small talk would be alright for starters even though he was dying to know more about this boy who had some from such a supposedly evil family.

Scorpius seemed to relax a little, and finally said, "Yeah, it was fun," but seeming to get defensive all of a sudden, he spat out, "Why are you talking to me anyways? I know who you are, Potter, and I know you know who I am. Are you just trying to get some dirt to report back to your little Gryffindor family? Or maybe your famous father!"

Albus, feeling a sick ache in his chest, defensively cried, "Look, I don't care who you are, and I'm not like what you think. And in case you haven't noticed, I don't seem to have a family or friends at the moment. I'm just here to make my way and this is where I was Sorted, so there." He felt a little childish after that, but Scorpius seemed to thaw a little at the show of defiance.

"Fine." Scorpius turned and glared at the other first years, who were staring. They all looked away instantly, and Scorpius couldn't help but wish that it wasn't necessary. He was finding Hogwarts rather lonely, especially in comparison to home, where his parents adored him and never let him forget it. And here his family's enemy was talking to him! Well, not the enemy himself, his son, but still! But still...he wasn't what everybody thought, so maybe the same applied to the famous Harry Potter's son. He decided he'd give it a chance, but he'd keep his eyes open. Suddenly he thought of something, and he leaned forwards looking concerned. "Do your parents know where you've been Sorted yet?"

Albus suddenly felt his face fall, and also felt a cold fear in his heart. "No. I don't know if they would understand." He told Scorpius about his father's parting words to him and found himself explaining his own feelings about his Sorting, but then stopped, abruptly feeling vulnerable. Perhaps he'd told this almost hostile boy too much. This was his father's enemy's son after all. He wouldn't let his guard down quite so easily again, at least until he knew that it would be safe. Feeling a little defensive again, he said, "But I guess you got what you wanted. Your family has always been in Slytherin, hasn't it?"

He immediately regretted saying that, because Scorpius' face flickered with hurt and he glared once more, saying, "Think what you like. That's what everyone else does anyways. Nothing new for me", and then he stood up and stalked out of the hall, leaving behind the book he'd been reading before Albus had introduced himself. With a heart full of remorse, Albus picked up the ancient looking, battered volume, and headed off to the dormitories, hoping to make amends.


	4. Chapter 4

**"Albus Severus and the Family Tree"**

Chapter Four

_Scorpius;_

_You forgot your book. I thought I'd return it to you so you wouldn't have to look for it. Quidditch Through the Ages is one of my favorite books and I know I'd sure miss my copy if I lost it. _

_Look, I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. Can we start over, and be friends?_

_Albus_

Albus left the parchment and the book on Scorpius' bed, and then sat up in bed, reading his own copy. He'd been obsessed with Quidditch since the first game his father had taken him to, the Chudley Cannons against the Holyhead Harpies (the Cannons lost, of course) and dreamed of being on his house's team someday, perhaps as Keeper or even Seeker if he was feeling ambitious. James was Seeker on the Gryffindor team, and was already showing even more aptitude than their father or grandfather had. Albus felt that he would be unbelievably dissapointed if he never made it on a team. But, he reflected, he'd already broken one family tradition. A heavy weight seemed to settle on his heart as he had a sudden vision of being the worst dissapointment the Potter family had ever seen.

As much as he missed his parents, he hadn't written to them yet, even after the Sorting and his exciting first day. He wasn't sure how to break it to them that he was a Slytherin. He felt a wave of shame, knowing that as much as he'd tried to be nonchalant about it, he'd really wanted to be a Slytherin. He'd felt that Slytherin was the underdog, like the lonely child at the park that nobody would play with, like Scorpius. He wanted to make everyone see that Slytherin wasn't all that bad and his keen sense of right and wrong told him that the way Slytherins had been treated since the war was wrong. But he still couldn't pluck up the courage to tell his parents, especially his dad, who had tried to be so understanding, but Albus knew that his father had never believed that Albus would be anything but a Gryffindor. Albus couldn't tell him, but he was pretty sure that James must have told him by now, probably taking alot of joy in the task.

Albus was suddenly overwhelmed by a vision of his parents reading a letter from James, and then his mother would pause in her reading and cry, hiding her face in his father's shoulder like she did whenever Uncle Fred was mentioned. And his father would stand there, strong, trying really hard to pretend that it didn't make any difference, when it really dissapointed him. Albus felt his face crumple, and could not stop the tears from falling down his face. And with the absolute worst timing ever, Scorpius walked into the room and headed towards his bed, his face resolutely turned away from Albus. Albus stopped crying, watching as Scorpius read the parchment, and resolutely putting it down, walked over to where Albus sat, wiping away tears with his sleeve.

"Thanks for returning my book. It's one of my favorites too, and this was my dad's copy when he went to school. I'm sorry that I was such a miserable little git. I'm not having any better of a year than you so far, it feels like it's worse actually. It tends to get a little lonely when your father and grandfather were Death Eaters and enemies of Harry Potter. Nobody would believe that my grandfather turned away from the dark and that my father had never wanted to join the dark in the first place. Nobody cares anyways." Scorpius looked up, defeated.

Albus felt a wave of sympathy for the pale boy, and for the first time he also felt a connection. "I know it may sound stupid, but its pretty lonely being the only Slytherin in a Gryffindor family. Everybody seems to expect me to be like my father, or like James, and I love them both, well at least my dad, and I just want to be myself for once. But I sound like I'm whining. I'm really sorry about how they treat you. Friends?"

He extended his hand once again, and Scorpius gratefully took it as if it were a lifeline. Then suddenly, his pale eyes lit up with a touch of cautious mischief: "So Albus, do your parents know that you're an evil Slytherin yet?" He shook Albus' hand and then sat down beside him, his face lighting up merrily.

"No, I haven't told them yet. They're gonna be mad at me. Or worse, ashamed. I guess I'll have to tell them though, or James will. If he hasn't already," he added darkly. But then his face and eyes lit up, matching his new friend's: "But just wait 'till they find out that I'm friends with the dangerous Scorpius Malfoy!" The two boys laughed at this, and then talked for the next hour, finding alot in common with eachother, including an identical sense of humour. Scorpius headed back to his bed and fell asleep, looking peaceful for the first time. Feeling much braver about everything, and bouyant with the newly aquired friendship, Albus took a piece of parchment out of his trunk, and a self inking quill, and wrote a letter to his dad.

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I'm sorry I haven't written to you. If you've heard from James, you'll know why, but I'll explain in case he hasn't._

_I was Sorted into Slytherin. I hope you're not embarrassed having a son there, but it's really sad. There's only 40 kids in my house, and nobody else really talks to us. I am enjoying being here and my room mates seem nice enough. Hogwarts is really great, and I enjoyed my first day of classes. Potions is my favorite._

_I made a new friend today. His name is Scorpius. His dad went to school with you. Everybody acts like he's poison but he's really funny and I think he's alright. I'd feel really lonely if he wasn't my friend because none of my old friends or family will talk to me now. Everybody acts like I'm not there, even Rosie. I miss her alot, even with the new friends I'm going to meet. Andrew is nice to me but he doesn't talk to me either. I wish there was no such thing as houses; It just makes people mean to eachother._

_Love, Albus_

_P.S. Say hi to Lillie for me. I'll send her a letter of her own soon._

He tied the note to his owl Ivan's leg, and sent him out the window with the letter before he could lose his nerve. As he watched Ivan's black shape dissapear into the night, he felt a little bit better about everything, but he still felt worried, and wished that everything would turn out alright.

The next morning, Albus woke up to find Scorpius still in the dorm, neatly attired, bed made, and reading his book again. Albus made a hurried tidying of his area and tried to do something with his hair, but as usual the effort was futile. At home he sometimes let it go spiky on purpose, and he'd always enjoyed the effect. He finally decided to do the same today, as it was easier and more his style. When Scorpius had seen this, he let out a whoop of laughter, muttered something that sounded like "Porcupine" to Albus' ears, and then jumped out of the way of Albus' jokingly waving fists. Albus muttered "helmet hair" to Scorpius, and laughing quietly, they made their way to the great hall for breakfast. Albus glaced over, as always, at the Gryffindor table and the Ravenclaw table, and once again, nobody would look at him, with the exception of Andrew, who sent him a wistful and friendly smile. Albus wished that houses didn't have to sit together. He would invite Rosie and Andrew to come along and sit with him. Then Rosie would see that Scorpius was alright. He missed Rosie more than ever.

As the two boys sat down, the post owls came flying in, and Albus remembered the letter he'd hastily scrawled last night. An icy feeling settled into the pit of his stomach as he saw Ivan come winging towards him, expecting to see a dark red envelope clutched in it's beak. But the envelope that dropped in front of him was yellowed white, and then he noticed another envelope, a tiny pink one with little red hearts on it. Albus couldn't resist grinning at Lillie's stationary. Scorpius ribbed Albus for a good five minutes about the "girlfriend" who'd sent him the pink envelope, and when Albus explained Lillie to him, Scorpius seemed to get an understanding smile on his face, and told Albus about his own sister, Desdemona, who was only three years old. Scorpius obviously adored his sister, and he talked happily about her for a few minutes.

While Scorpius ate some breakfast, Albus opened Lillie's letter, which was scrawled in red crayon on the same pink paper:

_Dear Albus;_

_How is Hogwarts? I miss you alot. Mummy is good company, but she's not as much fun as you are. I heard that you're in Slytherin now. Is it true that they have snakes roaming around loose in the common room? Mom and Dad said it's not true, but cousin Teddy swears that they do. _

_I can't wait for you to come home during Christmas holidays. Promise me you'll come home then?_

_Lillie_

Albus couldn't help but smile and the crayon drawing of himself at the bottom of the page, which looked like a square with arms and legs and a perectly round head, big eyes, and scribbles of black hair. It was so nice to hear from his little sister, to know that someone from his family was still talking to him. He resolved to write to Lillie every single day, if he could. He knew it must be lonely for her, being the only kid at home now. At least when James had gone, he'd had Lillie to play with.

Scorpius laughed at the crayon drawing, "Pretty good resemblance, I'd say. Say, aren't you going to open the other one?"

Albus looked at the plain envelope. No friendy hearts or crayon drawings here. He gritted his teeth as he "got it over with", opening the envelope. When it didn't scream at him, he finally felt safe pulling the parchment out. It was a letter from his parents, as he'd expected:

**Son,**

**I am glad to hear that you are enjoying Hogwarts, and that you've made a new friend. I went to school with Scorpius' father, but we weren't friends. I regret that Draco and I had never been able to settle our differences, and am glad to hear that you have become friends with his son. Whatever you may hear of the Malfoy family, know that even the most evil people can change for the good, and the Malfoys were not the most evil at all. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone deserves another chance.**

**As for being sorted in Slytherin, don't worry. You are my son and I am still proud of you, no matter where you are. I have met Slytherin's that I have become good friends with, Mr. Slughorn for instance. And Gryffindor doesn't hold all of the brave wizards. Severus Snape was braver than all of them.**

**Your mom is nagging me for the quill and threatening to put me in a body bind if I keep running on like this, so I'd better go. Write to us often, we want to hear all about your classes and your friends. It is unfair that your cousins and brother don't talk to you, but they'll come around. Give them time. Even the best of friends don't talk to eachother sometimes, but they always come back.**

**Your mom is pulling out her wand. Gotta go!**

**Love, Dad**

Albus chuckled, relieved, as his eyes scrolled further down, where his mother's much neater writing began:

_Albus,_

_I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying your classes, and I hope you're not breaking too many rules so far. We have enough to handle with Teddy and James set on them. And don't worry about your Sorting. Slytherin doesn't have to mean evil, and you could be the one that shows the world that. Just remain the good son and brother that you are, and be the best wizard you can be, and I know you'll go far. I'm sorry to hear that Rosie isn't talking to you. I'll be talking to your Uncle Ron today to see if we can help at all. She may just need some time to get used to it. _

_Lillie misses you very much. She wrote a little countdown on my calendar with one of her crayons, counting down the days 'till you come home for Christmas, and she's been asking alot of questions about how the owls get the letters to Hogwarts, so I think you should expect quite a few little notes from her. I remember doing the same thing when your uncle Fred went away. I missed him almost as much as I do now._

_I'm glad to hear that you've made a friend. I trust you to make wise choices, and I'm sure that Scorpius is a good boy. I believe that his mother might've gone to school with your Aunt Fleur. Be sure to have Scorpius ask his mom some time. _

_Anyways, I have to go, I'm bringing Lillie to visit Uncle George today, and I still have to write your brother a letter. So take care, be good, and I'll be waiting for your next letter. I love you very much. Mum._

Albus felt a great deal of relief as he placed the letter back in the envelope for safekeeping. Everything was going to be alright. Feeling light for the first time in weeks, he looked over at Scorpius and grinned.

"Ready for flying classes?"


	5. Chapter 5

**"Albus Severus and the Family Tree"**

Chapter Five

Albus and Scorpius left their first flying lesson, full of enthusiasm, and were inseperable for the rest of the day. Professor Emerus didn't seem to mind when Kevlin joined Gerald at his desk instead of joining up with Albus again. Albus had noticed that the other boys were a little chilly towards him now. Albus shrugged it off and Scorpius took Kevlin's place as if it had always been that way. That day they were brewing a simple plant based formula that made bruises vanish. Albus was impressed when Scorpius showed his ability to identify all of the ingredients by smell rather than by reading the labels, and Professor Emerus noticed as well, and gave Scorpius high praise.

While walking to Herbology, Albus questioned his friend about his strange ability, and Scorpius explained that he'd just always been that way. If he'd smelled something once, he never forgot it. Albus then explained his own enjoyment of Potions, and they both agreed that it was one of their favorite subjects. Albus thought that it was definitely his second favorite, after flying of course, and Scorpius decided that Herbology was his first and Potions his second. He looked defensively at Albus as he said so, as if expecting to be ridiculed, but Albus merely nodded as if it was something he'd expected to hear. Professor Longbottom smiled at both of them as they entered the greenhouse, which was filled with violently yellow fronds in a sort of swimming pool.

If Neville Longbottom was perfectly honest with himself, which he always was, he had to admit that he'd been extremely wary of Scorpius, who was the absolute spitting image of his father. Draco had enjoyed tormenting Neville in school, and Neville was afraid that the son would be the same way, but he immediately realized that that was not the case. Scorpius, in the first lesson yesterday, had shown an aptitude and a true love for Herbology. He had been able to identify many plants that the other students hadn't even heard of, and Neville had caught him sniffing at a few of the plants appreciatively and respectfully. Scorpius was also a well behaved, very serious child, and had seemed to have made friends with Harry's son Albus already. Neville wondered what the boys' famous fathers would think of this friendship.

Albus greeted his professor cheerily and chatted for a few minutes, being sure to include Scorpius in the conversation. Neville was finding himself liking the boy better. He had a few questions about some of the plants and actually listened to a few facts that would've bored other students to tears. Neville smiled, realizing that this was the beginning of peace, when he could have a pleasant conversation with the son of a former enemy. He smiled when his own son, Andrew, entered the class with Rose Weasley, who ran to Albus and gave him a big hug. There was a short reunion, in which Albus introduced Scorpius to his very favorite cousin.

Rose looked at Scorpius, feeling wary but not wanting to hurt her cousin's feelings again, and said hello. They made polite talk for a few moments, and Rose found herself introducing Andrew to him, and the two boys instantly clicked with their love of Herbology and exchanged facts about their favorite plants during the class. Albus and Rose worked together directly beside them, and Neville couldn't help but smile as he watched students from separate houses work together for the first time. This was the way to achieve peace. He wondered at that moment if the houses really only served to divide the students sometimes, remembering his own natural prejudice towards Slytherins. He decided that he would discuss this theory with his wife later when she finished teaching her Divination classes for the day, and then perhaps with the headmistress herself. There must be some other way to keep the students in manageable class sizes.

Peace was often on Neville's mind. He'd been in Dumbledore's Army, and had played an important role in the final battle, killing the serpent Nagini with the sword of Gryffindor, and as a result had gained glory and fame, making his gran extremely proud. But Neville didn't like killing and fighting. He liked a quiet, sunny day, with a bit of moisture in the air and plants surrounding him. And he never wanted to have to see his son fight. When Luna had become pregnant, he'd been worried that he would be a mess at fatherhood, but Harry had told him that all he could do was create the best world for his child that he could, and that's exactly what Neville strove to do. And when he and Luna took up teaching positions at Hogwarts, they found themselves suddenly surrounded by hundreds of children and feeing the need to create the best world possible for them.

At the end of the class, Rose and Andrew parted ways with Scorpius and Albus, and the boys headed of to their dorm to drop off their books before dinner. When they were almost near the correct staircase, they nearly collided with Professor McGonagall, who greeted them both and requested that Scorpius come to her office after he'd had his dinner. Scorpius readily agreed, and the headmistress sailed off towards the great hall with a satisfied look on her face.

"What was that all about? Are you in trouble or something?", asked Albus as soon as he thought she was out of earshot. Scorpius shook his head and as they walked to their dorm, he explained;

"It's just some extra help in Transfiguration that I requested; I don't completely understand it sometimes, so Professor agreed to give me an extra lesson once a week. It'll only be an hour, and we can hang out after that."

Albus understood right away. " Ok, I can use that time to write to Lillie and get my homework done. I wish I were as fast at it as you are. Maybe I'll try to get to know a few of the other kids too."

During dinner, Albus had managed to coax Blaise over to his end of the table, and Blaise had been polite but not exactly friendly towards Scorpius. The rest of his house remained at the other end of the table, not even glancing over at the three boys, with the exception of the other first years, who looked downright hostile. Albus was dissapointed, but Scorpius didn't seem to care, and acted equally icy towards Blaise, only speaking to him when absolutely necessary. When he left for his lesson with the headmistress, Blaise breathed a sigh of relief and turned on Albus;

"What are you doing, being friends with him? Don't you know who he is??" Albus rolled his eyes and took a breath. He'd been expecting this all through dinner, and had been preparing himself with what he would say.

"Yeah, he's my friend. And I know who his father is, and his grandfather, and I don't care if he's half Hippogriff. I'm going to be his friend until he gives me a reason not to, and you should just give him a chance."

Blaise stood up from the table, and the rest of the first years seemed to follow his lead. "Well, you have fun with your little Death Eater, and leave us alone. We don't want anything to do with his kind." And he stalked out of the room, followed by the rest of the first year Slytherins. Albus felt an overwhelming urge to throw his mug at Blaise or to knock his teeth out. But he didn't want to be expelled, especially not on his second day, so to conquer his temper, he decided to take a tour of the castle to clear his mind.

By the time he couldn't see the hall anymore, his temper had cooled, and he was able to leave the whole situation behind him. He decided that it would be a good time to write to Lillie, so he sat down and wrote a page for her, and sent it off with Ivan for Lillie to find in the morning. Feeling better, he settled on his bed with a book, only to find himself feeling more tired than usual, and he fell asleep. His last thought before he turned out the light was that Scorpius seemed to be taking a long time in his lesson....

Professor McGonagall sat behind her desk, surrounded by the portraits of the former headmasters, Fawkes the Phoenix, and a few of Dumbledore's curios that she hadn't the heart to dispose of. She was the first headmistress of the school, and some of the portraits had at first refused to aknowledge her, but they now did, albeit grudgingly. She often scoffed at how old fashioned they could be, doubting her abilities just because she was a woman. If they had seen her ferocity in the final battle, they would've shown a little more respect. McGonagall was a formidable woman, and had taken down a few Death Eaters single handedly in that battle. But her expression softened when she heard the approach of her student.

"Come in, Scorpius. Would you like a Ginger Nut?" She smiled maternally when he accepted the biscuit from the tin, and then got to business right away.

"Scorpius, am I correct to assume that your father has told you about your family's secret?"


	6. Chapter 6

**"Albus Severus and the Family Tree"**

Chapter Six

By the time that Scorpius had left the headmistress' office, he felt as if the whole world had gone from black and white to bright colors. Everything his father had ever told him was true! So yes, there was the whole Death Eater history, but on his grandmother's side of the family there was something that made up for all of that, and he was going to become part of it. Professor McGonagall had explained everything to him, and gave him a very special task. For Professor McGonagall was a very big part of all of this.

Professor McGonagall was the exact same type of wizard as Scorpius was going to be, and she was very powerful. Hogwarts wasn't the only thing that she'd taken over when Dumbledore and Snape had passed on. She had also taken over the Family. The Family was a network of a certain type and calibre of wizard who all had different gifted qualities about them, sort of a secret branch that the Order of the Phoenix had started up at one point and then had blessed as an independant Order. His own father, Draco, had become a member a few years before Scorpius had been born, and had met Scorpius' mother there. McGonagall was gifted as a "Finder". She could find potential Family wizards by looking for a certain aura about them. When she had explained how this gifting worked, Scorpius discovered another thrill...

"Professor, I think I can do that too. When I look at wizards, I see colors around them a bit. I thought there was just something wrong with my eyes, but my father told me that I was just actually able to see magical power. The first time I met a muggle, I couldn't see anything around them. But I can't see anything around Filch either. Why is that, professor?"

McGonagall had hastily changed the subject after that, muttering something that sounded like "squid" that Scorpius didn't understand, and then went on to explain that she had known from the first day that he came to Hogwarts that he was a Finder as well. She taught him how to center his special vision on a person so that he could see their aura more clearly, and encouraged him to practice tomorrow when he was around the other students. Then she explained that she had a job for him to do. He was going to help her find more wizards for the family.

"You see, laddie, some of the students are actually afraid of me. Can you imagine that?" Scorpius could easily imagine it, but said nothing and let her continue, " So I need you to find the students who have potential, and bring them here on the last Friday of each month, at midnight. For another battle is about to happen, this time using our gifts instead of our wands. The wizarding world is about to undergo quite a few changes, and some past wrongs are going to be righted at last. This is a secret battle, and an ongoing one. You must not tell anyone untrustworthy about this, am I clear?"

Scorpius nodded, and she dismissed him, noting the late hour and the weary look in her student's eyes.

Albus was fast asleep when Scorpius finally returned to his dormitory. Scorpius had dragged his feet a little, dreading the moment when he would enter that room and find out whether or not his new friend was one of the special kind of wizard that McGonagall was searching for. He somehow knew already that there wouldn't be room for too many friendships in his life, but he wanted to work hard and make the name of Malfoy something respectable for once, and he wanted everyone to stop looking at him as if he was something off the bottoms of their shoes. If he could succeed in that, he could be happy with having just a few solid friendships.

He steeled himself while entering the dormitories. Everyone was asleep, and Scorpius was exhausted, but he slowly went through the steps to use his Finding gift, and when he was ready, he turned and focused on Albus. All around his friend was a sort of green aura, like the same shade as a spring day. McGonagall's aura was more of a bronzy autumn color, but when Scorpius had looked harder at it, he'd noticed little brown oak leaves floating around in it. Albus' light green aura seemed to have whitish holly leaves in it, and Scorpius was glad to see that they weren't birch leaves. When he'd asked McGonagall what his aura looked like, she'd described his as being light green with white birch leaves floating in it, and for some reason that information seemed to make her sad. Her eyes had looked a little too shiny for a few moments and she had been strangely more gentle after that.

But Scorpius pushed that strange memory to the back of his mind and let out a sigh of relief. His only friend was also the "green" wizard type that McGonagall was searching for. He slowly scanned the rest of the room, noting with dread that Blaise was also the same. Blaise seemed to hate Scorpius, and he didn't know how it would go over, inviting him along to the headmistress' meetings...perhaps he would just wait a while, just to be sure. He could just "forget" to invite him for now...

Scorpius finally settled in for the night, with thoughts of his new life swirling through his mind and invading his dreams...

McGonagall woke the next morning when the sun hit her eyes, feeling bittersweet at the beginning of another day, another 24 hours being subtracted from the sum of her lifetime. She noticed these things so keenly now, especially when spending time with the younglings in her care. They had so much before them, and she felt that she had so much behind her. With a low sigh, she went through the motions of her morning preparations, and still at that point it was only five in the morning. Knowing that only the house elves would be astir at that time, she followed the same path she followed every morning, out in the chill air to the Whomping Willow, and speaking to it in a low but power filled voice, she entered it's passage, up the earthen staircase and into the tall crooked structure that she knew so well. She opened the door at the top of the highest staircase and entered, setting up the usual wards and then pulling multitudes of small vials of antidotes from her carpet bag.

"How are you feeling today, laddie?"

"Apart from the obvious fact that there's a large scar across my face, I am well. Have you found anything yet to reverse the harm of that?"

"Well, I have a few things here that may help you, but no promises, do I make myself clear?"

"Merlin's beard, woman, I've faced dissapointment every day of my life. You will find no false hope here."

Minerva worked through the morning, trying new spells and antidotes until finally she collapsed into a leather armchair near the fire. "I'm so sorry, laddie. I will keep searching, I promise. It will please you to know, however, that I have finally found one of the chosen ones. Draco's son has the gift. It won't be long now. I wish you would come back. The castle is your home, you could hide there and nobody would be the wiser. Please listen to reason. You might even find that you've missed it."

"Missed it? How could I miss it? All those whiny children yet another generation of chosen ones. I'm sick of it all. No, bring me news and I will be satisfied here except for the one thing I really need. If you can bring me that, I will return. Until then, you know my answer."

Minerva sighed as she returned to the sunlight and Hogwarts again, thinking of this one battle that she fought every day, with no victory in sight, only the hope that someone else will take up the banner and fight before it was too late...


	7. Chapter 7

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Seven**

As McGonagall made her way back to the school, the Slytherin boys were busy preparing for the day. Showering, dressing, and last minute homework kept everyone busy, so there wasn't much time for talking. But when they all sat down for breakfast in the great hall, Albus and Scorpius at one end of the table and the rest of the Slytherins huddled further away, their voices joined the hum of conversation filling the room. Scorpius was surprised to see Albus carrying a bookbag, as usually he just carried his books in his arms. The questions in his mind were answered when Albus, eyes twinkling merrily, reached in one of the pockets of the bag and pulled out a handful of toffees.

"My uncle George sent me these; he was hoping I could test them for him. Wanna help?"

Scorpius had heard all about George from Albus, but also had heard of him before. What child in the wizarding world hadn't heard of the famous joke shop that started in Diagon Alley nearly 25 years ago? Whatever Albus was offering him was potentially dangerous, but guaranteed to be fun. Albus, misinterpreting Scorpius' pause for reluctance, continued his pitch. " It alright, this one won't hurt, and uncle George said the effects wear off within an hour. So what do you say?"

Scorpius snorted, and said, "As if I'm going to let a Potter have all the fun! Hand one over!" The boys laughed as they tore open the paper wrappings and popped a toffee each in their mouths.

"Cheers," said Albus, washing his down with a swig of pumpkin juice, "Uncle George said that once we've swallowed it, to think as hard as we can about someone we know, and we'll apparently look and sound just like them. They're called *Polyjuice Poppers*"

For about five minutes, the boys waited, and when there was no sign of transfiguration or sickness, Albus sighed, a bit dissapointed. "I guess we'll have to tell him this one didn't work."

But just as Albus was ready to stuff the rest of the toffees back in his bag, he nearly jumped in shock to see not one, but two Blaise Zabinis, both staring at eachother in shock and apprehension. Albus tried his thinking again, until he felt his head start to hurt, and saw the two Blaises now staring at him, one still looking shocked, the other grinning from ear to ear.

One of the Blaises bolted out of the great hall, screaming like a little girl, and the two Blaise Zabinis remaining at the table chuckled and finished their breakfast, as the other Slytherins stared at them, and then looked away, rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

Blaise seemed to recover himself enough to attend his first class, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and was relieved to notice that he was the only Blaise Zabini in the room. Professor Chang took attendance, and noted that Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy were not at their desks. She sighed and wrote the necessary notes to the Gryffindor head of house, hoping that they weren't up to anything too awful. It was always the quiet ones...

Meanwhile, a perfect replica of Blaise was prowling around the corridors, allowing himself to be caught by the Head Boy. He was ushered into the headmistress' office and given a seat next to another perfect copy. Professor McGonagall glared at both of them but said nothing, until at last the Head Boy returned with yet another Blaise. Minerva stared at the three Blaises, who were all staring back at her with identical expressions of fear, with the exception of the latest Blaise, who was also shaking in his seat.

"Alright boys, I want to know which one of you is the real Blaise Zabini, and I want to know how you managed to smuggle Polyjuice potion into the school. So start talking or I shall be forced to send owls to your parents."

"I'm Blaise, I didn't do anything! They just appeared!" Blaise now looked like he was ready to pass out from the shock of it all, and McGonagall glared at the two imposters, who decided it would be wiser to tell the truth before they started turning back into themselves.

"I'm sorry Professor, I'm Albus. My Uncle George wanted me to test some toffees for him. They change you into whomever you can clearly think of. I didn't mean to frighten Blaise."

"It's Scorpius, Professor. I'm sorry. I just thought it would be fun."

Despite the sincere tones of their voices, Minerva saw a the two pairs of eyes twinkling and the two mouths twitching with the effort of not smiling, and couldn't help but feel a bit indulgent despite her annoyance over the whole scheme. The clock behind her chimed, and a few moments later she saw Albus and Scorpius finally, heads bowed a little, smiles still refusing to be repressed.

"I'm afraid this will have to mean a detention for you both. Blaise, please return to your class, and take this note to Professor Chang for me."

The boys exchanged a quick look, wondering what McGonagall would do to them.

"And as for you two, you will serve detention tonight with Professor Lovegood. And hopefully that will teach you that if you really must test products for your Uncle, you will do so on your own time, not mine. Your uncle will be recieving an owl from me about this as well. Just because he isn't here doesn't mean I can't deal with him when he needs disciplining!" And with a suspicious twitching around her mouth, she dismissed them. As soon as they were out of earshot, she sat down again and clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her giggles.

The two boys entered their next class, a little puzzled over her statement about Unce George, and absolutely dreading the detention to come...

"Alright boys, for your detention tonight, you will be helping me hunt for Nargles in the corridors for a few hours. Here, put these on." and Professor Lovegood handed each of them a pair of what looked like James' glasses, but with purple frames and crazy swirling colored lenses. The boys groaned inwardly. This would be the most embarrassing thing ever!

"And you'll need these as well", she said as she handed them each a necklace made of Butterbeer corks. They looked at eachother disbelievingly, but had no choice but to follow her as she pranced through the corridor, flourishing her wand over people's heads (to scare the Nargles away from scrambling their brains) and making them do the same. After nearly two hours of this, during which the Slytherin's had all walked by, laughing their heads of, James had become one of the Nargles victims and had given them both a look of annoyance, Peeves was now following them, making up a song about "well accessorized Slytherins", making them embarrassed and angry. Then, Professor Lovegood ushered them to the corridor leading to their house, where McGonagall stood, her eyes twinkling merrily as she took in the sight of the two completely shamed Slytherins.

"Thank you Luna, you may go now." The boys made for the entrance to their common room, only to be stopped by a dry cough behind them.

"Have you boys learnt your lesson well, or should we perhaps book another detention to help it settle in?" Her eyes were still twinkling and she seemed to be supressing the urge to smile. Both boys protested that they had learnt their lesson, and hurried into the common room before she could decide otherwise.

Once they were safe in their own common room, they slumped into two chairs at a small table, exhausted and relieved to be away from the headmistress' strange way of dealing with things. But their embarrassment was not finished just yet. Suddenly two goblets were slammed down onto the table, and they looked up into Blaise Zabini's eyes. Normally, they wouldn't have found Blaise too intimidating, but behind Blaise was the rest of the boys of Slytherin, all waiting patiently.

"A small revenge is due to me after that silly prank of yours. Drink this, or you'll wish you'd been sorted into Huffelpuff."

There was no way to escape, so after a quick exchanged look of apprehension, they tipped back their heads and downed the entire contents of the goblets. Then, they felt themselves sink to the floor, and saw their clothes bundled up above themselves. The Slytherins all laughed their heads off as they marched to their dormitories, leaving a fluffy white bunny and a black bunny running frantically around the common room.

_**I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read or reviewed my story so far, especially allegratree, who has given me a lot of constructive criticism since I began. Please review and tell me your thoughts/theories of how you think this might end...**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree, Chapter 8**

_**Sorry for waiting so long to write a new chapter! Things have been pretty busy, and I'm in the thick of some wedding planning, but I promise to be more diligent in the future! Keep those reviews coming please!**_

As the sun peeked over the snowy tops of the highlands and into the windows of the great hall, Albus woke up on the floor of the Slytherin common room. For a few minutes, he couldn't remember what had happened, but then it all came back to him with all the gentleness of a body bind hex. He remembered the disgusting taste of the polyjuice potion that Blaise had made them drink, he remembered hearing someone ask where he'd gotten the rabbit fur, he remembered hearing Blaise say something about a breeding project that Hagrid had going that involved rabbits, and then he remembered all of those Slytherins pointing and laughing as he and Scorpius tried to find somewhere to hide. Finally the Slytherins had gotten bored and left them there, and they had found to their dismay that the stairs up to the dorm were to high for them to hop. So they had spent the night down in the common room. Albus looked around for Scorpius as he finished putting on his clothes, which had fallen off during the transformation, and was concerned when he saw no sign of him or his clothes. _Perhaps he's mad over the whole mess, _Albus thought as he sat on one of the couches, putting his socks on. Just as he was about to go up to the dorm to get ready for the day, Scorpius came down the stairs, looking as if he'd had a full night's sleep instead of spending the night as a bunny.

"You're still here, Al ?", Scorpius asked, grinning, "Don't tell me you just woke up now. I've been up for hours! I can't help but feel a little dissapointed in you." A superior smirk crept into his face as he looked down at his friend's ruffled hair.

"I would've woken up sooner if I hadn't been so tired! I'm just lucky that I woke up before any girls did!"

"Wrong! I saw two leave the common room just as I was sneaking up the stairs to use the shower. There wasn't enough time to wake you though. I heard alot of giggling."

"Aw, no way! You're kidding me!", Albus squeaked, feeling very panicky.

"Nope, sorry Al. Wish I was," Scorpius waited 'till Albus had turned very pale, and then laughed to kill himself. Albus finally realized that his friend had only been joking, but gave him a quick punch in the shoulder just for good measure.

"Ah, come on Al, it was funny. And just wait till you see how I spent my last hour as a rabbit!"

"What did you do?"

"Needless to say, our friend Blaise was foolish enough to leave something rather important lying around the common room, and well, I can't help it if I was feeling a little bit hungry when I woke up." When Albus heard what it was, he laughed until he had tears in his eyes.

"You're going to start a war if you keep this up!"

"Not me, my friend. WE are going to start a war. If they won't pay attention to us, we'll make them!"

Albus had a few misgivings about that statement, but decided not to say anything. It was all in good fun anyways, and besides, he'd heard all about what his family had gotten up to when they'd attended Hogwarts. That thought cheered him up all the way to the showers, and as he turned on the hot water for his shower, he couldn't help but grin widely when he heard Blaise's scream.

"What the HELL happened to my quills???"

While Blaise was selecting some quills from the school's storage, Headmistress McGonagall was striding back to the castle after another visit with her patient. _I know it must be frustrating for him, but I wish he'd take his anger out on someone else. It's not his fault what happened. Nobody could've seen that coming._ But alas, the man living in the Shrieking Shack still was not ready to return to the world, no matter how badly the world needed him right now. She hoped that soon he would find something to wake up for. Something to live for. But it seemed that this time there had been one tragedy too many. She wiped a few tears away from her eyes as she entered the castle. _Who will keep this place going when I'm gone?_

Shaking that thought, and the mood that accompanied it, she entered the great hall, almost smiling as she saw the future of the wizarding world before her eyes again. It was the same all the time, no matter what war was being fought, they would depend on the next generation to repair the things that the previous generation had broken. Her thoughts were cut off abruptly by the sight of the Slytherin table. Albus and Scorpius were seated across from eachother, and the rest of the Slytherins were at the other end of the table, looking away from them. The two boys' eyes were twinkling in a way that her dearest departed friend would've understood. _If only Albus could see for himself the sons of our two most troublesome lads, best friends like this. _She had despaired of ever seeing peace between the two families, and couldn't help but wonder if Draco knew anything of it yet...

Albus and Scorpius left their last class of the day and had some free time before their dinner, and Scorpius asked his friend to explore the grounds with him. What he really wanted to do was talk, for he had realized that the first month was nearly over and he hadn't yet "found" any recruits for McGonagall. He had seen many that were qualified, but he didn't know how to go about getting them to come to the meetings. He had decided that it would be best to bring Albus first, and he hoped that Albus could help him with the rest. As they hurled rocks across the glass smooth surface of the lake, Scorpius finally got up his courage and said, "Albus, I have something to tell you. It's really important, so please don't laugh at me."

"Ok....." Albus said, waiting to hear his friend's secret. Scorpius coughed a little, and then began his story.

"Years and years ago, even before McGonagall was born, there were wizards here that were different from any other wizards in the world. They didn't use wands, and their spells weren't the same as the ones we use. They used just their hands, and they didn't have schools like this. They travelled around in a large group, called a family, and they taught their magic only to their own kind. But then other wizards came here and started teaching magic, and they wanted the Druids to teach their magic to everyone, but the Druids didn't want to. They said that their magic could only be taught to those who had Druid parents. Kind of like purebloods. So the other wizards tried to hunt them down, and keep them from using their magic, but they escaped and hid. Finally, about 50 years ago, Dumbledore revealed to the other members of the Order of the Phoenix that he was the leader of a Druid group, and that his group wanted to help in the battle against Voldemort. A few members of the Order were also members of the Druid family, and the Order voted that the rest of the family could join the Order. But ten years later, the Druids left the Order and started a secret Order of their own, which is still going on today. McGonagall is the leader of them now, and I'm one of them too. And you could be too, if you wanted."

"But I'm not a Druid. How come you got to join? Are you a Druid?"

"Not yet, but my dad is. I still have to wait 'till I'm older and I've learned enough. That's why McGonagall called me to her office a few weeks ago. I'm supposed to find more students for her to recruit and train. I can tell which people are right for it, and it's my job to ask them."

"Why can't she find them herself? Isn't she powerful enough?"

"She is, but she said that looking for them takes up alot of energy, and she doesn't have enough energy to keep Finding anymore. She said it was kind of like going blind, and that's why she needs me to help her. Do you want to join or not?"

"But I'm not a Druid, and neither is my dad! He would've told me! I can't go to that!"

"Maybe he is and he just doesn't know it. McGonagall said that there were lots of wizards that didn't know, and it is the Finder's job to find them! I know that you can do this."

"But HOW?"

"Ok, when I look at people, I see kind of colors around them, and that shows me what kind of magic they can do. Every magician has a special kind of magic that they do. Druids do Earth Magic, which is the oldest magic in the whole world. They can talk to anything alive and learn from it! That's how I know different plants so well, they tell me their names when I ask them to. My mother taught me that. Earth wizards have a green color around them. You're an earth wizard."

Albus thought about his tree, and suddenly felt very excited."What will I have to do?"

"Nothing yet, I don't think. Just learn for now. McGonagall might have a different job for you once she finds out what you can do. You might make a really good healer with your potions skills."

"Ah, healing's for girls. I want something interesting to do."

"So you'll go then?"

"I guess so. When do we go?"

"I don't know yet, she hasn't told me."

As the two boys returned to the castle, discussing quietly more things about earth wizards, a tall, very pale man stalked about the Shrieking Shack, trying to run away from the demons that were his only company at night.


	9. Chapter 9

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Nine**

That week, Scorpius worked out a plan to find and recruit new members for the family. McGonagall had sent him the message that there would be a meeting that Friday and that she couldn't wait to meet the students he'd found. He decided that if he did the finding and Albus did the recruiting, more of the students would be likely to join. Albus at first hadn't completely understood why it had to be that way.

"But if it's you that can find them, why am I getting them to join? Not that I don't want to help, but you know I'm not exactly popular."

"So what, Potter? Are you saying that the son of Draco Malfoy is likely to convince anyone to join anything?"

"Why not? I know about your family, but exactly why won't the other students talk to you?"

"Because, they think that my family is evil to the core. My father says that people like to have someone to blame for everything that's gone wrong in their lives, and that for this time, my family is the one they'll blame. Think about it. There's my grandfather, my father...Voldemort isn't around anymore to pay for what he did, so it seems that my family will have to. "

"But why me? I'm terrible at talking to people, and here you are, pointing out two _girls _and asking me to go invite them to a meeting that the headmistress is putting on? I don't know what to say!"

For Scorpius had decided that it would be easier to approach students from other houses to start with, and his eyes had drifted over to the Ravenclaw table, which was the closest to theirs, and after concentrating for a few moments had found two students with the telltale green aura about them. Once his vision had cleared a bit more, he felt a keen sense of dissapointment when he realized that they were girls. The Elderin twins. They already had a reputation for being serious scolars at Hogwarts and they were only in their second year, which meant that not only were they girls, but they were older girls. And Rhodina, the "tomboy" of the twins, was apparently wicked on the quidditch pitch and off. Scorpius decided instantly that it was time to delegate, and had tried to persuade Albus into the recruiting. He wished that Finders weren't so damn rare so that there would be someone else to do this job. But then, he had to prove that he deserved a place among the family, so like a good Slytherin he managed to find a way.

"C'mon Albus, of course they'll talk to you! You're Harry Potter's son! And besides, I hear that Rena fancies your big brother."

Rena had long, shiny black pigtails and large green eyes. She was taller than Albus and as slender as a willow tree. Albus did not want to talk to her. But how could he say no to his friend? He didn't want to be thought of as a coward. He tried to imagine how James would handle the situation, and then armed with a small piece of parchment explaining everything, he approached the two girls, who sat at the end of their table, both with their noses in books. When he felt that he'd gotten close enough, he tried to force himself to be nonchalant and simply place the parchment between them and then walk away, but he got nervous and threw the parchment at them, darting away as fast as he could, leaving the twins looking at the doorway with puzzled expressions. Scorpius, watching his friend's exit, sighed and rolled his eyes as he gathered up his things and headed for the common room.

The two boys sat on one of the couches, reviewing the day's work. After Albus' rather dramatic recruitment experience, Scorpius had decided that he really should just take the matter into his own hands. So he tried to think of the most popular students in the entire school, and concentrated his sight on them, feeling that if he could only get someone more popular and well spoken to do the job, it would go much more smoothly. He'd been dissapointed when James had been discovered to not possess the necessary aura, but also relieved. Albus had told him about his insecurities starting at Hogwarts, and he didn't want his friend to be unhappy by having the big brother around. He had continued "scanning" students and his eyes suddenly fell on a student who, while not wildly popular, was definitely well liked and very confident. Andrew Longbottom was sitting on the remains of a fountain that had crumbled in the final battle, reading one of his father's Herbology studies. Scorpius approached him and told him everything that he'd told Albus, and asked him if he would come to the first meeting. Andrew was a little hesitant about the late night meeting at first, until Scorpius explained that McGonagall was in charge of the meeting. Andrew had spent much of his time around the castle as a young child, and he and the prickly headmistress had always had almost a grandchild/grandmother relationship. Scorpius jogged back to the common room, feeling light hearted after the success of his first recruitment.

He was so light hearted, in fact, that he didn't notice Blaise Zabini III hiding behind a crumbling archway, listening to every word with a cold expression in his green eyes.

When Scorpius entered the common room, Albus was seated there, writing something on a piece of parchment and then tying it to his owl's leg. Realizing what he was doing, Scorpius stopped him.

"No worries, Al. I'm sorry for putting you on the spot this morning."

"Oh, it's ok, I can handle this way of asking people. I don't know why I didn't think of it before."

"So who are you sending that one to?"

"You had mentioned this morning that you wanted to recruit Brian Olssen, so I'm sending this one to him." Brian was a great big fourth year, enormous for his age. He looked like something out of a viking story but wasn't just a dumb jock. He passed all of his classes easily and wasn't embarrassed to be seen reading.

"You make it sound like you've sent out more than one."

"Two! I sent one to my cousin Victoire. You mentioned her this morning. She's already replied, she'll be at the meeting."

"Oh, ok. Ummm....I recruited one. And the twins came and talked to me, they'll be there too." Truthfully, the twins had asked so many questions that he'd nearly passed out from the effort of answering all of them as quickly as the girls fired them off. It had been nice to have someone talking to him without sneering for once, even if they were two very tall, very aggressive witches.

"Oh, Andrew told me about his recruitment. I'm glad he'll be there. You'll have to see if Rose is one of us, because if she thinks that we have a secret, she'll find it out. And if she finds out that we're keeping something from her..." and to finish this statement, Albus made a gesture that looked like someone performing the Cruciatus curse. Scorpius laughed at his friend's imitation of the wild haired cousin, and the two boys were just starting a rather good impersonation of Rose's temper when the owl returned, with a new parchment tied to its leg. Albus gave fed his owl a few nuts as he read Brian's reply.

"Well?", asked Scorpius, impatiently.

"He's in, but he says that if this is any funny business that we'll be sorry. He adds that just because he's a Gryffindor doesn't mean he's a perfect saint."

"So that's how many now that we have, five? Plus us is seven. McGonagall should be happy enough with that."

Relieved to be finished that bit of business, they went to the great hall for lunch and then walked out the main doors to see if there was anything interesting happening on the grounds. They had just decided to find Rose and Andrew and pay Hagrid a visit when suddenly they were tackled from out of nowhere by a red, gold, and purple blur.

"If you quit yer struggling, it'll go better for ya."

They stopped struggling and looked at their captor, a short, wiry looking Gryffindor witch with bright purple hair, who was glaring at the two boys in a very frightening way.

"I'm Eliz'beth Morton. You need to be bit more sneaky with your recruitin'.", she said, holding up one of Albus' parchments, "You're just lucky that I found this one. Brian isn't an idiot, but 'e isn't the most particular sort either. I know what you's are lookin' for, and I fit the bill, let me assure you. I know that you is lookin' for earth wizards, and I so 'appen to be one myself. Me mum passed it on to me." She was obviously proud of this knowledge. The boys sized her up, Albus physically and Scorpius magically. She was shorter than both of them, but Albus knew that she was close to James' age, because James had mentioned her, saying that she was "a riot". Albus couldn't help but think how apt the description was. He'd never seen such a wild personage in his life.

Scorpius was not surprised to find that Elizabeth was one of them. His finding ability was getting stronger, and now he hardly had to concentrate at all. He could see that Albus was completely terrified of her, and while he found that amusing, he felt a little intimidated himself. He'd never heard of or seen this crazy girl, and he had to wonder at the sanity of someone who would dye their hair purple, of all colors.

"Hey, wotch it, blondie, this is no dye. I'm also a shapeshifter," she stated proudly, "and I can read minds too, so you'd best be careful what you're thinking when you're around me, 'cause I'll know. But I can see that I'm already in. I'll see you both on Friday." And with that, her hair and eyes suddenly turned an alarming shade of blue and she laughed as she turned away from their astonished faces.

She melted back into the scenery, leaving both boys with an immense feeling of unease. That girl was dangerous.

"So I guess that makes eight.", said Albus, hesitantly.

As the two boys finished their trek to Hagrid's, meeting Rose and Andrew on the way, a pair of yellow eyes glared out at them from a tree with a gaze that could burn through stone.


	10. Chapter 10

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Ten**

It was Friday, and the meeting was set for that night. Albus and Scorpius were pleased to be bringing a company of eight to the meeting, and excited, for this was to be a real meeting, with all of the members present. They would finally meet the rest of the family. Everyone had just finished dinner and were heading back to their common rooms when suddenly Albus was smacked in the head with a book. The boys looked behind them in surprise to see Rose brandishing the large tome with a fiercely determined look in her eyes. Albus groaned with pain and understanding.

"Andrew told you." Rose rolled her eyes and glared at them again.

"Of course he told me, silly. I thought you were all up to something when Scorpius starting staring at people in that funny way. So I asked Andrew if he knew what was going on, but he didn't want to tell me, so I waited until we were studying together last night, and he left to use the loo, so I searched his books using an advanced spell, and sure enough, found this." And in her hand was a parchment with notes on it. The boys read it as quickly as possible, keeping an eye on Rose's indignant face. Andrew had done a bit of research on earth wizards and the family. Scorpius suddenly chuckled. Albus stared at him, astonished, wondering what he could possibly find funny with Rose glaring at them like that. Rose's scowl became even blacker as she turned her attention to Scorpius, who laughed some more.

"Sorry, Rose, I simply can't help it. Are you sure the hat didn't want to sort you into Slytherin? You're much more cunning than Albus is, even if Albus has enough mischief in him to become a proper Slytherin." Rose's face went shocked, and then very red. The boys suddenly grasped something, and it was Albus' turn to glare at his cousin.

"IT DID??? Rose, why didn't you? I would've felt so much better if you'd been sorted with me!" Rose's face turned its natural color again, and she primly scowled at her cousin again.

"I didn't WANT to be in Slytherin with that horrible Gerald Parkinson! He was trying to make friends with me on the boat and I just don't like him! And besides, I like being in Ravenclaw, and the hat let me choose between the two!" Scorpius laughed again, and Albus couldn't help but snicker a little. Scorpius looked at Rose, vastly amused.

"So you mean to tell us that you picked a different house simply because you didn't like one of the other house members? That's hardly fair, Rose. You know that since the war everybody's been urged to make friends and keep the wizarding world together. There's no room for prejudice in this new world that we're building."

"Well, they can keep it together without me being in Slytherin, and it's too late to change it now. And don't talk to me about prejudice, it's everywhere. Now, are you going to let me come to this meeting tonight or not? Keep in mind that if you decide to say no to me, there might be consequences that would in no way leave a trail back to me. I've been practicing a few advanced hexes, and may I assure you I'm quite good at them."

Scorpius roared with laughter at this point, having seen that she was definitely an earth witch, and knowing that cunning like that always had a place in the world.

"That little speech would have made Salazar Slytherin himself proud! The poor hat was probably afraid to contradict your choice!"

The nine students gathered in the headmistress' office, all wearing matching expressions of nervousness, with the exception of Elizabeth (now "Liz") who was wearing a look of anticipation, along with an alarming mane of green hair. The headmistress had welcomed each and every one of them, and then explained the evening's proceedings.

"We will be taking the floo network to headquarters. Elizabeth, I believe you have travelled in this fashion before, if you could please demonstrate for the others how this is done." Liz pranced into the fireplace, and taking the green powder, cried out "Family Headquarters!" as McGonagall had directed her to. She immediately dissapeared. Finally, the nine had arrived at headquarters, scattering soot everywhere.

Headquarters was a large underground room. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all the same dry earth, and tree roots poked through here and there. There were candle sconces along the walls to light things up, and an enormous table with different leaves painted on it in the very end of the room. Seated at the table, facing the students, was a large host of witches and wizards, some with very familiar faces. Scorpius ran to greet his parents, as did Andrew. The twins greeted a tall, stately man who was revealed to be their grandfather. Liz and Brian stood together nervously chatting, obviously not familiar with anyone here, and Victoire ran to her father, Bill Weasley, who was seated at the table. Albus and Rose were just about to greet him when suddenly Albus realized that his mother was sitting beside Uncle Bill, and Uncle Fred was just on the other side, along with his and Rose's grandmother. They ran over to greet their family members, and Arthur and Molly Weasley gazed on their two grandchildren proudly. All the students made their way back to Brian and Liz after McGonagall dryly cleared her throat.

"We are meeting here tonight to induct these children into the family, to be cared for by all members as if they were their own offspring. Will you pledge your guidance, protection, and love to all of these?"

The children looked back at the adults, all fearing that perhaps they would be deemed not good enough, and that they would be rejected. For Liz, who was an orphan, and Brian, who was from Iceland and had parents who'd abandoned him when he'd gotten his letter, this fear was particularly sharp.

"We do," the adults stated, "so long as our roots may hold."

Then, one by one, the new initiates were brought forward to McGonagall, who announced that she would perform the final Finding ritual on each of them, and that they would be given a mentor, who would somehow magically be summoned. The mentor would guide and protect them even more than the other family could, and would be in charge of their education.

"Scorpius Malfoy, please step forward." Scorpius stood at McGonagall's side, and she placed her hands on his shouders, and suddenly Scorpius glowed a fresh, new green, and it seemed as though a shower of birch leaves fell around him. When the adults saw this, they softly gasped, and their eyes became solemn and sad. And suddenly, a tall man stepped forward.

"I am known as Neville Longbottom. I will mentor Scorpius Malfoy." Scorpius looked up joyously at his new mentor, who was also his favorite teacher, and they clasped hands in the unbreakable vow of mentor and student. A chair appeared beside Neville's, and Scorpius sat there. Professor McGonagall continued her ritual. Rhodina and Rena Elderin, whose auras floated with gorse flowers, were bonded respectively to Luna Lovegood and Ginny Potter. Rose Weasley's aura floated with ash leaves, and she seated herself beside the twins' grandfather, whose name was Alexander Elderin. She smiled up at the stately old gentleman, who couldn't help but smile back. Brian's aura also had gorse in it, and the unwanted boy finally found somewhere where he was wanted, as Molly Weasley swept forward and gathered the big lad into a motherly hug. Liz found herself (and her willowy aura) seated beside Andromeda Tonks, who had tears in her eyes at the sight of a girl that reminded her so sharply of her own little girl, who'd been dead nearly twenty years now. Teddy, whose oak leaved aura brought sounds of awe from the adults, was surprisingly paired with Narcissa Malfoy, who welcomed her boisterous great-nephew with dignified affection. Andrew, whose aura was the same as Teddy's, was lead to a mentor bond, rather surprisingly, with Professor McGonagall herself, who was so astonished and happy that she forgot herself momentarily and hugged the boy, laughing joyously. She sobered up quickly with the thought that she would do her best to protect him from the same fate that her last student had met. Her last student/son of sorts, who was now hiding in the Shrieking Shack, cursing his existence. She suddenly felt very worn, and found herself bringing her last initiate over. Albus stood very still as she placed her hands on his shoulders, feeling a sudden warmth around him. His aura, as Scorpius had seen, certainly had holly leaves in it, but also had oak, and aspen leaves in it as well. Everyone was obviously astonished, and a murmur spread through the room, and McGonagall waited for the mentor to step forward and claim this special and very powerful student. She waited five minutes. Ten minutes. Perhaps his intended mentor was hesitant to accept the strife of such a powerful student. Thirty minutes passed when finally she cried,

"Is there no mentor for this lad?" Everyone stared at Albus, astonished, worried, and cautious.

In the topmost room of a decrepit old house, a man stirred, feeling the pull of a student for the first time. And he ignored it, frightened.

In a dark cell, deep in Hogwarts where nobody ever went, a small girl with mousy brown hair slept fitfully under the influence of heavy doses of dreamless sleep, awaiting the return of her yellow eyed captor.


	11. Chapter 11

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Eleven**

The sun rose over another day at Hogwarts, and most of the boys and girls in the Slytherin common room scurried into their quidditch wear instead of their usual robes. Quidditch tryouts were today, and everyone was excited, even those who didn't intend to try out. Scorpius was going to try out, and despite his best efforts at persuading Albus, his best friend would be sitting in the stands, watching. Albus was continuing his new habit of being different from his father, and though he loved quidditch, he maintained that he'd rather watch and cheer Scorpius on.

As the boys walked towards the pitch, the Gryffindors were leaving, having finished their own tryouts. Albus saw that once again, James was chosen as Seeker. Nobody else had tried out because they didn't want to be humiliated by James' superiority. James was grinning widely as he was carried by a bunch of Gryffindor boys and trailing behind were a mass of giggling Gryffindor girls. Albus thought to himself bitterly that James really did love all the attention he got and drank it in. What a show off.

As the afternoon went by, the Slytherin quidditch team was slowly forming. The captain watched the players and occasionally would summon one to his side, where he would be handed a freshly charmed Slytherin quidditch uniform and a special broom. Hogwarts had made a decree ten years back that the brooms for the teams would be supplied by the school, the same type for everyone, to promote safety and to help less fortunate students have a chance on the team, instead of those with the best equipment. Scorpius was flying around on his father's old broom at that moment, trying to find the Snitch, which had been released into a group of six Slytherins who were all trying out for the position.

Albus watched the players soar about the pitch and tried to convince himself that he didn't really want to be out there with them. After half an hour, he was beginning to feel very regretful of his decision, but held his pride and did nothing. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Bludger began to zoom around amond the Seeker hopefuls, causing a few collisions in the students' efforts to avoid it. Following the Bludger with a beater's bat and a panicked look was Gerald Parkinson, on a broom that was a little too small to hold up his pudgy frame. Albus watched in horror as the Bludger sped towards Scorpius, who was zipping towards the ground with his hand stretched out towards the Snitch.

Albus and Gerald, along with the rest of the Slytherins, screamed for Scorpius' attention, but Scorpius only had eyes and ears for the Snitch. When the bludger hit the left side of his head, leaving him sprawling in the sand with his right arm at an odd angle, the Snitch flew away, and was caught by Blaise, whose green eyes went from shocked to frightened very quickly. As he was handed his new uniform and broom, he watched in remorse as the boy who truly deserved to be Seeker was floated away on a stretcher, the left side of his head seeming to be caved in a bit. And he tried his best not to look directly at the pair of yellow eyes that glared out from the bottom of one of the quidditch stands.

In the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey was rushing back and forth as two healers who had just apparated from St. Mungo's examined Scorpius. The blow had been a bad one, but fortunately they were able to use an injection of Skele-grow and a few spells to restore the bruised grey matter and erase the memory of the pain. Scorpius would be in the hospital wing for two weeks, and would be put on a drip of Wakeless Night while he recovered. Scorpius' father had just arrived, having been owled at his office, and was now seated beside Scorpius' hospital bed in the chair next to the one Albus sat in. Gerald Parkinson was in the opposite corner of the room, falling apart in hysterics while a tall, black haired witch in Slytherin robes tried to convince him to take a tonic. Albus tore his eyes away from his best friend's face for a moment to watch.

"It's my fault! I tried to catch the Bludger but I wasn't fast enough! I deserve to die!" The black haired witch suddenly hitched up one of her eyebrows in a vastly unimpressed manner and then narrowed her reddish/brown eyes as she took hold of the boy's shoulders and shook him roughly.

"Get a grip on yourself, Parkinson! He is not going to die, and all you deserve is to be locked in a dungeon and fed nothing until you're light enough to sit on a broom without warping it!" Though the boy looked shocked, it seemed that her words had no effect, so she narrowed her eyes even more than Albus had thought possible and sharply slapped Gerald's chubby face with her left hand. Gerald stopped blubbering, shocked by the rough treatment, and his mouth fell into a perfect "o". The tall witch glowered at the boy and handed him the tonic, which he downed, keeping an eye on the furious witch, who was still glaring at him, nostrils flaring. She had a surprisingly strong nose for a girl, and thin lips, which were drawn into a grim line as she glared at Gerald one more time, then she swept away from him, her robes floating behind her graceful gait. Albus turned his eyes back to his best friend, and was shocked when he heard Draco Malfoy speak.

"I thought that would never end. What a bloody nuisance."

Albus stared up at his best friend's father, who suddenly looked down at him with curiosity in his eyes.

"Nice to meet you again, Albus. I'm sorry I didn't have time to introduce myself at the meeting."

"That's alright, sir, there was alot going on."

"Has McGonagall found a solution to your lack of a mentor yet?" Albus looked up into the man's eyes cautiously, expecting to see the suspicion he'd seen in the others' eyes, but saw only concern and kindness.

"No, I've basically been passed from one family member to the next and taught a little by each," he said, and then surprised himself by continuing. "Nobody seems to want to be saddled with the job of teaching me."

"Well, they're probably hesitant. They haven't seen too many initiates with more than one leaf form in their aura, and they may feel a little intimidated by the potential you show. There's never been a case like yours in the history of the family, and I think alot of them feel that they're not strong enough to deal with the power you possess."

"But I don't have any power. I'm just me. I'm not like my dad." Albus didn't mean to sound like he was whining, but he was starting to feel like everyone wanted him to be special like his father and would do or say anything to make it happen.

"You do have power, my boy, and you would be foolish to deny it when you can feel it respond every time you're outside among the trees and you can hear them whisper." Seeing the surprised look in the boy's eyes, Draco smiled kindly and continued. "I can hear them too, and I have learnt many things from them. Open your soul to them and you may be surprised what they can show you."

Albus suddenly looked up at his friend's dad hopefully. Here was someone that understood. He resolved to do as the man advised the next opportunity he had, and with that resolution came a great sense of joy. His tree could become his mentor! Filled with joy, he smiled as he sat there, listening to his father's former enemy tell him about the things that the trees had told him, feeling hopeful for the first time since he'd joined the family. Finally, Draco stood up, and kindly ruffled Albus' hair.

"I am sure we'll meet again soon, Albus. Scorpius has been begging us to allow you to visit us some time over the holidays, and I think it would be fun to surprise him. How about I send an owl to your parents, inviting you to come stay with us for a few days before Christmas? I'm sure they wouldn't mind, and they would also be invited to dinner the evening that you are to return home."

"That would be great, sir! I won't breathe a word to Scorpius!"

Smiling at his beloved son's best friend, Draco Malfoy Disapparated back to Malfoy Manor, where he told his wife and parents that Scorpius was going to be alright, and that they were going to give him the best Christmas surprise this year.

McGonagall entered the hospital wing to prepare for the next morning's visit to her patient, and smiled at the sight of Harry's son, fast asleep in the chair beside the bed where Draco's son lay. It was a funny thing, peace. Even in the most chaotic times it popped up in the most unlikely places, reminding you to never give up hope. She smiled tenderly and transfigured the chair into a comfortable couch before she entered the potions storeroom, where a tall, black haired witch slept in another chair, her head in her arms on the table in front of her, a pile of books surrounding her. McGonagall roused her in a motherly manner, gently shaking one of the thin shoulders.

_Wake up, lass. Your neck will ache tomorrow if you sleep like that. Return to your dorm. You deserve the rest._

_But headmistress, I need to study! If I don't pass my NEWTs, I'll never get anywhere in life, and I'm so far behind these days with helping out here. I just wish the other kids weren't so clumsy._

_Ah, but lass, we can't all be as graceful as you are. As your mother was._

_You think she's dead, don't you?_

_There was no evidence to the contrary. I only hope that I am wrong. It seems unfair that you are left without mother or father._

_What was my father like, headmistress?_

_Very much like you, my dear. Headstrong and resilient. Now off to bed with you. Goodnight, Seventia._

_Goodnight, headmistress._

As the girl danced away to the Slytherin dormitories, Minerva watched her dissapear into the dark, wishing that there was some way that she could restore the poor child's parents to her. But there was nothing she could do, and she had tried her best. The mother was still alive, she knew that, but Siobheann Dewar wouldn't return to the wizarding world at the present time. She had gone into hiding when the new troubles began, sending Seventia to Hogwarts for safety, saying that she'd already seen far more than she deserved and that she would sit this one out. Minerva couldn't bring herself to resent the girl for deciding that. It was true, she had been through much. But she couldn't justify the fact that she now had to lie to Siobheann's daughter, fearing that she would always be motherless and fatherless. And Seventia's father didn't even realize that she existed. He'd never been told. Minerva didn't want to raise false hopes in the child, as she hadn't yet had the right time to bring it up with him, and she continued to allow Seventia to believe that she was as good as orphaned.


	12. Chapter 12

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Twelve**

A week flew by almost unnoticed, as life around the castle continued in the way it had for years. Albus had faithfully visited Scorpius every single day, often bringing his homework or a book he was reading with him. Scorpius' skull had finally grown back without the ugly dent in it, and only a large bruise remained. Albus hoped that the bruise would be gone by the time that they let Scorpius wake up. Albus still couldn't manage to forget how awful Scorpius had looked after the accident, and had nightmares about it still. Scorpius' dad had been shocked but trusted Madam Pomfrey and the healers to do their work. They had yet to see if they'd fully succeeded. Today, one of the healers had mentioned the possibility of amnesia when he thought Albus couldn't hear, and he was still in a bad state about it when the tall black-haired witch floated into the room. Albus looked at her with respect, considering her harsh treatment of the blubbering Gerald, and tried his best to not let her see how worried he was. Unfortunately for him, she had noticed, and was now eyeing him as if she was deciding what to say. Finally, she dropped into the chair beside him and rested her arm on the back of his chair. He looked up at her fearfully. She caught the way he was looking at her, and her left eyebrow arched as her lips pressed together in an amused smirk.

"Don't worry, Potter. If I intended any harm towards you, you wouldn't even be able to sense me in the room."

"How do you know who I am?" Albus blurted out, feeling foolish the moment the words left his lips. Everyone in the wizarding world knew who he was. This witch was obviously not an idiot either.

"I've been watching you. You and Malfoy here have been the subject of many a discussion among the staff here. I rather enjoyed hearing about the Polyjuice things. I'm working my way towards becoming a healer, so I spend all of my spare time working here. I hadn't heard much new about you two for a while until Malfoy's accident, poor kid. You're going to have to hone your pranking skills a wee bit more though, to be worthy of the house of Slytherin. Some of us are expert prankers, especially the girls since I came along," she stated, almost puffing up with her pride, "I can give you a small bit of help, if you'd like, for though you've got one of the best prankers Hogwarts has ever had for a brother, you'll need to learn tricks from other people so that you can develop your own style. Some of us take pranking very seriously in Slytherin."

Albus considered her offer for a moment. To have such a deadly ally would be perfect, and it would be nice to have another friend in Slytherin. Gerald had come to visit Scorpius now and then, and had apologized for his previous treatment of him, but Gerald wasn't cunning enough to help with pranks. Albus sometimes wondered if the hat hadn't made a mistake putting Gerald in Slytherin. Hoping Scorpius wouldn't be upset, he finally replied to the witch.

"Thank you. We would appreciate the help. But who are you, anyways?"

"My name is Seventia Dewar, sixth year, Slytherin obviously. I'm an orphan of sorts. My mother has gone missing and they think she's dead, and as for my father, I don't know who he is and they won't tell me very much about him, not even his name. I don't even know if he's alive or dead."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Albus, suddenly finding himself feeling sad for the tall girl who slouched in the chair beside him. He'd never seen anyone slouch gracefully. It was the strangest thing he'd ever seen.

"Ah, I'm doing alright, though I do miss my mother. She was a Gryffindor, a year younger than your parents actually. She worked her for four years as Potions mistress but when she left my father she ended up working at Beauxbatons, where I lived 'till she dissapeared when I was 11. Shortly afterwards I got my Hogwarts letter and decided to come here, to be where my mother had been. She'd been friends with the Professors Longbottom and Lovegood, they've told me alot about her, but they won't tell me about my father at all."

Suddenly, she straightened up and a sharp look appeared in her reddish eyes.

"Anyways, help with your pranking. I suggest we start from the beginning. I have a friend that you should meet. PEEVES!!!"

Suddenly, a rather pudgy and very puckish looking ghost zoomed into the room and hovered near Seventia, gazing at her with something nearing adoration in his eyes.

"Seventia, love of my life, how can I serve you?" The ghost made a low bow, and then noticed Albus seated beside her. His eyes went wider with mock surprise, and he squacked excitedly.

"Wee Pottie's wee son! Let's hope this one doesn't dissapoint like the other one. No cunning, that James. I saw your work with young Mr. Zabini, however, and that was a nice bit of work on your part. You take after your mother's side of the family, it seems. Wonderful boys, your uncles. They made afterlife much more worthwhile for me here, and I especially miss your uncle Freddie. He was always my favorite, with young Georgie a close second, but Seventia here could teach them a thing or two. Speaking of Seventia..." he trailed off, leering at Seventia, who laughed easily, a deep, dry, throaty chuckle. She kept her arm on the back of Albus' chair in an older sisters way as she spoke to the ghost, who was eagerly awaiting her requests.

"Albus and Scorpius here are embarking on a little prank war to get the Slytherins to give them a little more respect. They're being particularly awful to Scorpius here, because of his family. The Malfoys, you know. They have talent, but they need a bit of guidance and I think you would be the best choice to start them off and keep an eye out for them. What do you say?"

"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine!" the ghost shouted gleefully, and began to float away, cackling rather evilly, "Ta ta love! I must go and make PLANS!" And cackling some more, he finally dissapeared, leaving Seventia chuckling again as she watched him go.

"He's a bit batty, but you'll see he's quite alright. He tried to throw a fanged frisbee at me my first year here but I sensed it coming and bounced it back into his face. I was the first first year student to defy him successfully, and he's been devoted to me since."

Albus couldn't help but smile, wishing that Scorpius was there to experience all of this.

One day when Albus was visiting Scorpius in the hospital wing, Blaise Zabini loped into the room, an angry look in his green eyes. Albus looked around a bit nervously, realizing suddenly that he was completely alone there. Scorpius was still unconscious, and Seventia and Madam Pomfrey were off to administer the antidote for Dreamless Sleep to an entire potions class after a sixth year Huffelpuff's cauldron had exploded, knocking everyone in the room completely out. Nobody had noticed until the next class had arrived, and they'd notified the headmistress right away. Potions were cancelled for the day, and Albus had decided to visit Scorpius in the now free period. Unfortunately, it looked as though Blaise had intended to do the same. Albus scowled suddenly, feeling angry.

"What are you doing here?"

Blaise continued towards Albus, his lope becoming more predatory with every step, his eyes burning with anger.

"Your little friend's grandfather nearly got my father killed before the final battle. My father has never gotten over it and hasn't been able to so much as lift his wand since. And while that hasn't stopped my father completely, I've always been a firm believer in an eye for an eye. Your little friend is going to pay for what his family did to mine." He stepped towards Scorpius' bed, pulling his wand out of his sleeve. Albus felt a moment of intense, sickening fear as the boy continued to approach. Blaise had a reputation for his cruelty already, and had learnt a few rather advanced hexes, which he'd used on a few unfortunates who had displeased him, and Albus knew that there was no way he could protect his friend. Wishing Rosie were there with her own arsenal of hexes, or that he'd brought his wand with him to defend himself and Scorpius till someone could help, he did the one thing that he'd had to learn to do living with James and Teddy.

He launched himself at Blaise, fists flying, as the first hex left the boy's outstretched wand, feeling a great sense of relief when he saw Madam Pomfrey and Seventia enter the hospital wing.

Albus woke up the next morning with an aching head and sluggish limbs, and when he opened his eyes, he nearly screamed when he saw the healing cuts that wove up and down his left side. They were everywhere, and they were deep. Suddenly, he looked up into Seventia's grim face as she took ahold of his arm gently and smoothed a soothing salve into the cuts. The cool sensation settled him down and made the cuts itch less, and he had time to glance, panicked, over the witch's shoulder. There lay Scorpius, fast asleep and looking quite well except for the large bruise on the side of his head, which hadn't quite faded yet.

"Your friend was lucky," Seventia growled as she wrapped Albus' arm in gauze and began to dab salve on his face. "Mr. Zabini decided to try a little spell called Sectumsempra, which apparently had been used on his father by Lucius Malfoy in the final battle. Your friend's grandfather had gotten a little out of hand and had cut into tendons. Blaise's father healed, but the damage had been left unhealed for long enough that he is now heavily scarred and nearly crippled. The silly boy thought it would be poetic justice to do the same to Scorpius here, and hadn't expected you to pounce on him like that. He was distracted and the hex hit you instead of Scorpius. The scars won't heal, unfortunately, but people will definitely think twice before messing with either of you again. And as for Blaise, he's just lucky that he didn't get himself expelled. He's been suspended for a month while the headmistress decides what to do about the situation. If I were you, I would tell Scorpius the same thing that the rest of the students think: that Blaise challenged you to a duel unfairly. He doesn't need to hear more hate towards his family."

Albus looked at the older witch gratefully, glad to have a friend that also kept an eye out for Scorpius.

"Thanks, Seventia. I owe you one." Seventia arched her eyebrow and one side of her mouth curled in an amused look.

"You owe me way more than one, my friend. You owe me about ten at this point. It's alright though, I don't feel like collecting today. Your family is coming, and I'm going to leave you with them while I work on a few things. If the cuts start to sting again, just give a shout and I'll come back, alright?"

"How do you know they're coming?"

"I can sense things. I'll explain it to you sometime. Here they are."

As Albus' family entered the wing, Seventia twirled herself around, robes swirling about herself, as she retreated to the potions storeroom. Harry stopped and stared at her, a funny expression on his face.

"What's wrong, dear?" asked Ginny, who stopped along with her husband as James and Lily ran to their brother's side. Harry shook his head in disbelief.

"I just couldn't help but be reminded of something when I saw that girl, and I can't remember exactly what."

"Well, perhaps it will come to you later. Let's see how our son is doing."

"Right.", Harry said, gazing down at his younger son, who was pale beneath the livid cuts along the left side of his face, his shoulder, and his arm. He wasn't quite disfigured, but he definitely didn't look as pure as he had when he'd left for Hogwarts. Those cuts would leave scars, and he realized that there was a funny kind of sense in the fact that his son now bore scars from defending the son of a man that Harry had left the same type of scars on in a stupid, reckless moment. He mourned this loss of his son's pure appearance, but he couldn't help but feel an immense pride knowing that his son had earned those scars defending a friend.

"So, I guess you've outdone me in the scar department. I feel downright foolish with my little lightning bolt, sitting next to a seasoned warrior such as yourself," he joked, making Albus grin. There was a cut that pulled up the corner of his mouth now when he smiled, giving him a rakish appearance that was so out of place on the 11 year old's face. Ginny fussed over him and James teased him and Lily held his hand quietly, and Albus felt safe and loved among his family.

Suddenly he looked up and saw Seventia stalk into the room, right up to Scorpius' bed, as Scorpius opened his eyes and let out a squeak of surprise to find himself in the hospital. She bent over him and talked to him for a good ten minutes in a low rumble, obviously explaining the events of the past two weeks to him. Finally, she said something, pointing towards Albus. Scorpius said something impatiently, and chuckling, Seventia scooped him up in her arms and carried him over, seating him at the foot of Albus' bed. The Potters all introduced themselves to him and to Seventia, whom Harry stole glances at now and then, and the conversation turned to Albus' scars. Scorpius, once he'd gotten over the guilt of what defending him had cost Albus, felt well enough to crack a joke.

"Now your face matches your hair, Potter. Nice work."


	13. Chapter 13

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Thirteen**

Two weeks later, a group of Hogwarts students, all from different houses and years, gathered in a clearing in the once forbidden forest, in a circular stone structure that the family had built at their beginning to serve as headquarters. It was now too small for the family to meet in, and McGonagall had entrusted all of the wards and passwords to Liz, who had been revealed to possess an amazing memory for such things. The students had worked for a week on their spare time to put everything in order and make the place comfortable. There was no furniture save a low, circular oriental table, which was surrounded by cushions, which the students now sat on as they drank bottles of pumpkin juice and ate a tin of cookies that the house elves had presented Rose with after she'd asked them. Rose had also secured the pumpkin juice, and had transfigured windows into the walls of the structure with Scorpius' help. There were invisibility wards all around the small structure, so there was no fear of discovery at all.

The students had been using the space to study about earth magic and the family, and to discuss it with one another. They met once a week to exchange ideas and information, and to practice simple rituals to strengthen their skills. Scorpius was still the only Finder in the group, but Albus, Rose, and Victoire were all revealed to be Healers, much to Albus' initial disgust. Andrew, Brian, and Rhodina were Guides, who were the strongest spiritually in the family and were expected to shepherd the others. Rena and Liz were Bards, whose job was to memorize and pass on the history of the family to the next generation, when they finally came along. Albus, Scorpius, Brian, Liz, and Rhodina were also surprisingly revealed to be Battlers as well, who defended the family in times of need. They were being trained more rigorously in magical defense and attack than the other students, as well as hand to hand combat in case something happened that would impede magic. Albus carried his wand everywhere with him these days, especially since Blaise was now back at school.

Albus was longing to try Draco's suggestion and learn from the trees if he could, but he still felt intensely private about that particular ability of his, and he was never alone, so he hadn't had the chance. He missed his oak tree at home, and couldn't wait to go home over the holidays and try to learn from it, now that he understood the relationship he had with the tree. It wasn't like the tree could send him an owl or anything, he thought with a small smirk.

The atmosphere between these students had gotten so relaxed, and they had all become so comfortable with one another, that it wasn't surprising what happened one day at breakfast in the Great Hall. Rose had cheerfully entered and taken a seat beside Albus at the Slytherin table. Her mind was on other things and she'd gotten so used to sitting next to him during the forest meetings that she'd just completely forgotten that life at Hogwarts was slightly different. So she'd been appalled when silence suddenly fell over the hall as the other side of the Slytherin table hissed at her loudly for trespassing on their territory, and she fled the table in tears as the teachers all looked on, shocked. Nothing like this had ever happened at Hogwarts before, and they weren't sure how to deal with it. Professor McGonagall, however, had looked on with a knowing gleam in her eyes.

Rose had retreated to the Ravenclaw table and had her face buried in Rena's shoulder, humiliated and indignant. Andrew suddenly stomped up from his seat, eyes blazing, and marched towards the Slytherin table, Rhodina following close behind, her eyes alight with mischief. The two of them sat down at the Slytherin table, Andrew glaring at them all fiercely. They remained there for the rest of the meal, ignoring the hisses and protests of the Slytherins. Scorpius and Albus couldn't help but wish that Seventia was there to make them behave, but she was in the hospital wing working for extra credit again. Finally the meal ended, and they all headed to classes.

The students who were family members all stood together in a group in one of the corridors, discussing the incident, Rose still in tears. Rena was doing her best to comfort her when suddenly Liz hissed, "Intruder coming!", and they all turned around to face Gerald Parkinson, who suddenly transfigured a pink rose out of one of his quills and handed it to Rose, apologizing for the actions of his table. Rose, overcome by the beauty of the gift and the ease in which Gerald had so skillfully managed it, instantly forgave him. Gerald lingered shyly.

"I was wondering, would it be alright if I hung around with you? I felt so angry at the way they treated you this morning that I want to defy them somehow, show them that houses don't matter to everyone here. And I don't trust the other Slytherins, but nobody else will even look at me because of the house I belong to."

Scorpius suddenly stepped forward, holding out his right hand in a truly welcoming manner.

"You'd be more than welcome to, Gerald. As a matter of fact, I was going to ask you if you would join us. You see, you're a rather special type of wizard, whether you know it or not.", and he told Gerald the whole story. Gerald's eyes shone with gratitude and pride, and he allowed himself to be recruited. They couldn't wait to introduce their newest Guide to McGonagall at the next meeting that Friday.

Meanwhile, McGonagall swept back and forth in her office furiously, her eyes cold with anger. She'd been owled by the Board of Directors that morning. Warned by Lucius Malfoy in advance, she'd been expecting it, but she hadn't expected how worked up the board would get over something as trivial as students deciding to sit at a different table. It wasn't strictly down in the rules that it couldn't happen, after all. It was just that nobody had ever thought of it before. Now, in her hand, he held a decree from the board, stating that students were to remain at their own tables, to supposedly promote "order". The board had also implied that she was slipping in her advanced years, to let something like that happen under her own nose. She burnt the parchment after tearing it up in pieces, trying to forget the admonitions of the board that what was good enough for the revered founders of Hogwarts should be good enough for her, and implied that she thought herself above the founders by flouting their traditions like that. As the last word burnt away in her fire, she sighed, leaning tiredly in her chair, forgetting in her anger the presence of Seventia, who was at that moment doing some extra Charms homework that she'd persuaded McGonagall to reluctantly give her.

As the headmistress sighed again, absolutely exhausted, Seventia thought up a plan...

Gasps of shock burst from the lips of nearly every teacher and student as they entered the Hall for dinner, with the exception of Seventia, who was once again absent, doing some extra Potions work while Professor Emerus wasn't occupying the lab. The Great Hall was totally stripped of furniture. There were no tables and no chairs or benches to be found anywhere. Instead, there were picnic baskets scattered everywhere in the room, for when the house elves had entered the Hall and seen it so empty, they asked the Headmistress where the tables had gone, and when McGonagall couldn't summon the tables and chairs back, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in his portrait, for he'd seen the mischievious, determined look in Seventia's eyes as she left the headmistress' office that afternoon, having hatched a plan to do away with the tables.

Dumbledore had travelled to the portraits of the four founders in the Great Hall and blindfolded every one of them before Seventia arrived, also taking the additional precaution of gagging Salazar, who had a tendency of being a bit hissy from time to time. Then, eyes twinkling, he watched as Seventia darted into the Hall, trailed by Albus and Scorpius. Seventia scowled blackly and performed a perfect Shrinking Charm on all of the furniture. Albus placed all of it in a shoe box that he'd pulled out of a pocket in his robes, making Seventia grimly laugh by making some sort of comment about Lily possibly gaining some furniture for her doll castle if the trouble continued. Scorpius guarded the door, building some serious Repelling Wards to keep prying eyes away. Then, job well done, Seventia twirled around and stalked out of the Hall, her robes flowing behind her in a way that Dumbledore remembered from another time, and the boys high-fived eachother, congratulating themselves on their second prank so well executed.

Now, as the teachers and students tucked into the picnic that McGonagall had sarcastically suggested, not dreaming that the house elves would think she was serious, she had to smile at the sight of the houses mingling with one another, and smiled especially fondly at a particular group of nine young witches and wizards that had a green glow about them and identical looks of mischief in their eyes. Acting on a suspicion, she sent out a quiet thought to the thin blond boy seated next to the small black haired boy and the shy little redhead.

_I assume you had a hand in this? _The boy's eyes twinkled, just like Dumbledore's had done all day. She rolled her eyes and returned her attentions to her meal, resolving to hold a can of paint thinner up to the portrait until he talked.

She glanced up at the portraits of the Hogwarts founders, and was puzzled, and then shocked as a realization set in, at the sight of Salazar Slytherin, eyes furious, spitting out a ball of purple cloth...

**Oh god, we're getting so close to the best part now!!! I can't wait till you see it! Thanks everyone for the reviews, it's so nice to know that someone appreciates something I've worked so hard on. Keep those reviews coming!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Fourteen**

The November meeting of the family was on one of the coldest nights that Hogwarts had ever seen. Many of the witches and wizards in the meeting were wrapped warmly in magical cloaks that kept their bodies at an even temperature, and were layered underneath with clothes. The initiates were all seated with their mentors, with the exception of Andrew, who sat between his parents as his mentor performed a ritual, and Albus, who still did not have a mentor. Some of the adult members of the family had looked at him with sympathy in their eyes instead of the suspicion that he'd been expecting. Still, it was evident that some of them weren't comfortable around him. They acted as if he was a time bomb waiting to go off. His newly acquired scars were not helping the matter at all.

Gerald was now standing in front of them all, with McGonagall standing behind him with her frail hands on his shoulders, performing the Finding ritual. His aura suddenly glowed a very dark green, and the adults all gasped in unison as the oak leaves fell around Gerald's frame. Albus heard several whispers of "so young" and "very rare", and learnt from Draco, who whispered a quick explanation, that the strange colored aura showed a great spiritual growth already beginning in their new friend. The auras changed color as the earth witch or wizard grew, and auras could be any color from white to brown. Albus felt another rush of respect for his new friend, and was glad when his own grandfather, Arthur Weasley, stood up and solemnly revealed himself to be the boy's mentor. Then it was time for the new initiate who'd only been recruited an hour before the meeting.

Seventia stood stately in front of them all, wearing pure black robes instead of her school robes, and a stern, proud look was on her small face. McGonagall nearly wept when she saw the birch leaves in the young one's aura. _After all she's been through, and all her father has been through. Merlin preserve us all. _But she immediately felt a bit safer as Draco Malfoy stepped forward and clasped her hands, welcoming her as his initiate. _He will help her. He has great strength, and escaped his own fate. Perhaps he can help her do the same. And Scorpius as well._

Once everyone was seated, she cleared her throat and began the meeting. There were new matters concerning Albus' continuing lack of a mentor, and she spoke a bit for the first time about a Threat looming in the very near future, that one of the family had seen.

"Our source has Seen a great darkness coming to the wizarding world once more, and this time it is aiming straight at the children. Durmstrang has already taken protective measures, as headmaster Viktor Krum here can tell you, and Madame Maxime has assured me that her successor at Beauxbatons has begun to take the same measures. For those of us here at Hogwarts, we are extremely fortunate to have four of our own on staff, and an unheard of amount of Battlers among our new initiates. They are being trained rigorously and will be able to protect their fellow initiates, since they especially will be a target to our foes."

"It would seem that this as yet unknown Threat wants to recruit earth mages for a dark order of her own, and that she hopes to lure away the loneliest students of the Gifted, those who would be more vulnerable in their solitude. We must not let this happen. We saw in the last war how some of the most insecure children were led astray by false promises of belonging somewhere, and we well know the risks of allowing another dark army to rise. Lucius and Draco have graciously offered to tutor all of us in strategy, having had considerable experience in the last war on the side of the dark. It is time to move past our prejudices and band together."

"I must also warn you that I have had a vision of the forest in flames three nights in a row now. This is a bad omen that cannot be ignored. I am filled with foreboding and dread these days."

Before McGonagall could continue, suddenly the magical light in the room went out completely. Everyone sat where they were, still and eerily silent, afraid to miss hearing any trace of an enemy in the room. Suddenly, everyone heard a low, breathy cackle, and the room burst into flames, and screams of pain and fright filled the air. McGonagall, though afraid, could not afford to panic. She ran to one of the walls and placed her hands on the earth, her aura burning against the flames that licked at the hems of her robes. The wall shuddered open, and McGonagall turned to the others, using Sonorus as quickly as she could.

"Quickly, this way, we must escape! Mentors, keep your initiates close! Follow me!" and she ran off down a long, dark tunnel. McGonagall had sealed the wall back again, and they all followed the glow of her aura, which she projected to light a bit of the way. No one else had this particular skill, Finders being so rare, so the others followed her in the darkness, shaking ashes off their robes as they went, and some of them even had tears in their eyes. Andromeda was wrapping her own cloak around Liz, who'd been closest to the fire, and had a large hole burnt through her sweater, and her locket had burnt her chest, leaving a large angry patch of blisters behind. The healers in the group performed a quick spell on the burn, but it would leave a scar.

For what seemed like hours to Albus, they travelled through the dark tunnel, unsure of where McGonagall was leading them, when finally they came to a "fork in the road", so to speak. To their left, there was a staircase travelling upwards to a large oaken door, and to their right was another tunnel, and darkness. McGonagall hesitated for a moment, a conflict in her eyes, but then she turned to face the witches and wizards that she was leading.

"Please lead the initiates back to the Castle, and those who can stay, please guard Hogwarts for me. I have a task that I must see to right away, something that may give us a better chance through this. If you continue down the tunnel, you will find yourself exiting out of the Whomping Willow. Please alert the staff that there is a danger to our students, and they will guide you in the correct procedures. If anyone expresses any doubt, just tell them the password." With that statement she gave them all the password, and swept up the staircase hurriedly, dissapearing through the large door into darkness.

Alexander Elderin, holding onto Rose's hand, led the way out of the tunnel, and they travelled on for a short while before finding the exit. Professor Longbottom spoke the correct incantation to the Willow, who knew his voice, and everyone found themselves breathing the fresh, extremely cold air around the Castle. Without saying a word, everyone rushed into the castle, to be let in by a rather irritated looking Filch, who automatically asked for the password, which Alexander gave without hesitation. Filch grudgingly allowed them to enter the castle, and the initiates were immediately escorted to their common rooms and instructed not to leave them. As soon as the adults left, Scorpius pulled Albus and Gerald aside, and Seventia followed them. They sat in a small circle and whispered urgently.

"What happened?" Scorpius asked Seventia, who was scowling darkly.

"I'm not sure. It was just regular fire, not Fiendfire, otherwise we would've been killed by it. You see, our auras apparently have protective qualities against physical attack, at least that's what some of the material I've read says, but it is susceptible to magical attack. So whoever started that fire wasn't trying to kill anyone, just frighten us or destroy headquarters." Seventia looked calm, but her eyes were enormous. Suddenly Albus remembered something.

"But what about Liz? She got burnt! Maybe whoever it was was out to get Liz! But why would someone attack her? She's just a bard."

Seventia rolled her eyes and fixed a stern look on Albus.

"Bards are sometimes the fiercest of Battlers, my dear," she whispered sardonically. "And her shape-shifting ability is rather impressive. There is no room for 'just' anything to an enemy. Even one of anybody's abilities, if it were what the enemy needed, puts them at risk for attack. And as for why Liz got hurt, I'm going to guess that perhaps her aura isn't strong enough yet."

"But her mother trained her! She said so herself. She's experienced."

"Even the most experienced witch or wizard can have a weak spot, Albus. Now, go up to your beds, boys. I'm going to go get some facts, hopefully. There's too many loose ends in this for my liking." And with that, she suddenly vanished, leaving the three boys looking where she'd been with hanging jaws. Gerald was the first to speak.

"How DOES she do that? That's advanced magic!" And he nearly jumped out of his socks, the other two boys doing the same, when they heard a silky whisper close to them.

"I've had alot of time to learn and practice this! Now go to bed already! You'll need all your energy tomorrow!" And with that, the door of the common room swung open and closed seemingly on its own, and the boys were left gazing, shocked, at the door. Gerald scurried up to the dorm as if Seventia was at his heels with her considerable skill at hexes, and Albus was about to do the same, when Scorpius grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the fireplace.

"Hey! Let me go, she might come back!" Albus squeaked, as Scorpius sat down on the rug.

"Don't be ridiculous, Albus. You saw the look on her face. When Seventia gets that determined to learn about something, nothing can stop her. She won't be back until all of the questions are answered. And besides, there's something bothering me."

"What is it?"

"Well, remember when we split up in the tunnel? I wonder what's behind that door?"

"You're right, it totally slipped my mind until now. We should ask Rose, or Seventia when she's in a better mood. Chances are one of them has read somewhere about the Whomping Willow."

"No way, you ask for help too much, we should just go out and check it out for ourselves. We know how to get there anyways. I heard Professor Longbottom use the password. We could just slip in, find out what's behind that door, and then come back. If we find nothing, oh well, but I have a feeling there's something important behind that door, and if we find out what it is, it'll help the other initiates. But don't breathe a word of this to anyone, we'll have to do it secretly."

"What if it's something dangerous? We could be killed, and if we were caught in the act, we'd be expelled and grounded for life."

"Look, are you in, or aren't you, Albus? If you're not in, I'll just go by myself."

"No, I'm coming with you, I just don't want to get caught."

"We won't get caught. Peeves showed me a secret way out of the castle one day when you were in the loo. We'll use that."

"Alright. When will we do it?"

"After the holidays. I need to get some stuff from my house that will help us, and I need time to plan so that it's failproof."

With that, the boys left to their beds, completely oblivious to the presence of Blaise Zabini, who'd been hiding in a dark corner the entire time.

In a sitting room in the Shrieking Shack, Minerva sat up straight in a comfortable chair, steadying herself with the firewhiskey she'd been handed, as the tall, pale man stalked back and forth with a frustrated look in his eyes.

"Merlin's beard, woman. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not coming back? I will certainly keep an eye on any comings and goings in the tunnels, and I will definitely try to learn all I can about the situation, and I will help you strategize, but I am not returning! I am tired of all these generations after generations of chosen ones, all these children who are raised to save witches and wizards with more than twice their age and experience. You ask too much."

"We aren't expecting the children to save us this time, laddie. We're trying to save them. We don't know what it is yet, but this Threat is looking for gifted children, and we don't know whether it means to recruit them or massacre them. This is not like one of Albus' machinations, bless his sometimes misguided soul. This is about the family. And that damned scar of yours isn't going to clear! So stop hiding behind it! Someone entered headquarters unseen and released a massive fire! A student was injured and I have to search for a new place to meet! Our damned wards were broken though, for Merlin's sake!"

"I will watch and help where I am willing. That is all." And with that statement, the pale man stalked away to pretend to sleep, and to wait for McGonagall to go back to the Castle. She watched him leave, and a tear, unbidden, escaped down her face.


	15. Chapter 15

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Three weeks later, the holidays arrived, along with a freezing rain that covered everything it touched, making Hogwarts and its grounds appear to be made of glass. It was beautiful, but treacherous as well. Even Hagrid had moved into the castle because he couldn't manage to open the doors. If it hadn't been for the Floo Network, nobody would've been able to go home for the holidays at all. Only a select few of the muggleborns could get around the grounds, in boots with knives on the bottoms of them, called "Skates".

The family was not having a meeting that month due to the fact that McGonagall had still not managed to secure a safe place for meeting, however, the initiates had not been neglected. Their mentors had visited often, and Albus had been visited by various members, who had given him instruction and encouragement. Everyone seemed to have gotten used to his lack of a mentor, and they were less tense around him for the most part. Almost every single woman that came to teach him had fussed over his scars, which Albus hated. He'd grown rather proud of them, but he couldn't stand being coddled like a baby. Once, when a particularly fussy woman was exclaiming over the scars, Albus had spotted Seventia crouching in the shadows, covering her mouth to keep her laugh silent, and later on that day, she'd started to mimic the silly woman, much to Albus' dismay.

The initiates had managed to have a meeting of their own. Gerald had persuaded McGonagall to open up the floo network to their meeting place every once in a while, and Rose had done her usual work of bringing food and drinks, and the house elves, who adored the quiet Rose and thanked their lucky stars that she wasn't too much like her mother, were more than happy to tuck a few extras into the basket each time. They had a sort of party at the beginning, but then Seventia sat down at the "head" of the round table and called a meeting to order. She said what she needed to say and never veered off topic, only recounting the events of the last family meeting and asking if anyone had seen anything different at all. Everyone at the table shook their heads, and they all looked at one another, fear in their eyes.

Albus would've liked to have discussed the other tunnel with the whole group, but Seventia had pulled him aside beforehand to talk. Actually, he'd been walking down a corridor when he'd found himself being yanked out of it and into the empty potions classroom. Seventia narrowed her eyes for a moment before finally speaking.

"You and Scorpius are up to something, and I know it's something having to do with that other tunnel. I don't want anything to do with your investigations, but I'm gonna warn you, don't mention it to any of the others, ok? I know Scorpius has probably already asked you not to, but I just want to be sure. I'm not going to say who it is in case I'm wrong, but I think there's something funny going on with one of the initiates, and I want to know what's there too but I don't want information getting into the wrong hands. You need to be as discreet about it as possible."

Albus couldn't help but resent Seventia a little for interfering as if he didn't know what he was doing, as if he was a stupid little kid, but he knew better than to let it show. Seventia had proven on a few occasions to be surprisingly strong for such a thin girl. Brian had the audacity to call her "twiggy" one day, and she'd knocked him flat on his back within seconds afterwards, much to Brian's embarrassment and Seventia's satisfaction. Albus also didn't want her to notice because he knew she was right.

"Thanks. I owe you again I guess."

"Damn right you owe me," she snorted, and then became serious. "Look, I know you probably feel like I'm being a nosy big sister right now, but I promise it's not because I don't trust your judgement. I've just got a really bad feeling about that information getting around, and I don't want anyone getting hurt. I promise I'll tell you if it ever becomes safe."

As Albus walked away, Seventia vanished into the shadows again, and ten minutes later, Albus completely forgot about her, because when he arrived at the Slytherin common room, there stood his trunk, along with Scorpius' trunk and Scorpius himself, who was grinning excitedly. Scorpius had only gotten the owl yesterday that Albus would be coming to Malfoy Manor for four days, and almost hadn't been able to sleep. It would be the first time there had ever been company at Malfoy Manor, in all the years since the war, at least as long as Scorpius had been alive. The two boys gathered up their trunks and dragged them to the Headmistress' office, where McGonagall was waiting, a happy Andrew nearby. Scorpius dissapeared first, and then Albus was handed some floo powder, and he stepped into the fireplace, saying, "Malfoy Manor!"

* * *

After the rather cluttered comfort of his own home and those of his family, and the grandeur of Hogwarts, Albus was not quite prepared for the sight of Malfoy Manor. The library that the floo network had coughed him into was bulging full of books, and there was even a potions lab in one of the corners. Everything looked old, and slightly worn, but absolutely beautiful. Albus was so absorbed in looking around that he'd momentarily forgotten about Scorpius, who was now dragging him over to greet the Malfoy family. Albus finally remembered his manners and looked up at the four adults quietly. He'd met them all before, but now, here in their own habitat, they seemed very grand and imposing, and old. But then suddenly a small girl with the same white blond hair toddled over to Scorpius, giggling, and Scorpius picked her up and tossed her around a few times, making her scream with laughter. Scorpius' mother suddenly smiled fondly at her two children, and Albus realized that she was really quite a bit like his aunt Fleur, and that made him feel more at home right away. Draco shook his hand with a kind smile, as did Lucius, but Narcissa actually gave him a gentle hug and welcomed him very warmly. Within the next half hour, Albus and Scorpius were installed in Scorpius' room, where a cot had been prepared for Albus, and then they were sitting in a cozy sitting room before a roaring fire, eating sweets while the adults had their tea. The adults had asked them all about school, and after that was done with, they began to discuss plans for the next four days. Draco spoke first.

"Well Scorpius, I think after tea is finished perhaps you would like to show Albus the labyrinth?" Albus looked in surprise at Scorpius, who grinned and agreed right away.

"Mom taught Dad how to make them, and they make one every year for the holidays. It's really more like a castle than a true labyrinth, and it's so much fun! Perhaps we can even sleep in there one night?" He looked at his father pleadingly. Draco laughed.

"Of course. I think I may even join you myself. Your mother isn't feeling overly adventurous, but I'm always up for it." Albus had so many questions, but he finally chose one and eagerly bent forward.

"What is the labyrinth made of?"

"Ice, my boy. There are some special spells to make a labyrinth, and you normally make them from shrubs, as your father may have told you from when he was in the Tri Wizard Tournament, but Eloise learnt how to make them from ice when she was a teen. Her family has been crafting them for generations and generations, and she taught me. When Scorpius passes his OWLs, he'll learn as well, and we'd be glad to teach you also when the time comes." Albus smiled hugely and thanked him.

After tea Scorpius and Albus bundled up, and they ventured into the garden, where Albus stopped in his tracks, mouth gaping wide. The older Malfoy men, who had decided to join them in wandering the labyrinth, laughed, and Draco took a camera out of his pocket and took pictures of the labyrinth and the boy's faces. Albus finally recovered from his shock when Scorpius grabbed his arm and dragged him inside.

The labyrinth was wonderful. There were benches here and there covered with furs, and in one of the chambers there were beds. There were doorways and stairs and little nooks with magical fires in them that wouldn't melt the ice or burn anyone, but still kept the castle quite warm and well lit. In one of the chambers there was even a set of wizard's chess, made entirely of ice, and the two boys played a round against the men, who managed to win just slightly and with good nature. Nearly four hours later, they finally came to a chamber at the very top of the ice castle, where there were cool bottles of pumpkin juice, which the boys drank while the men drank out of flasks emblazoned with the Malfoy crest. When they'd rested enough and felt refreshed, Albus said,

"So how do we get out of the labyrinth? I saw the door seal itself after we'd entered." The men chuckled a little to themselves, and Scorpius' face lit up with an enormous grin.

"Oh, wait 'till you see this, Albus! Its the best part of the whole labyrinth!" and the four of them walked over to one of the windows, which had an oddly shaped sill. When Albus looked out the window as he was directed to, he realized that there was the most enormous slide, completely of ice, winding around the castle's turrets and high walls. Letting out a whoop, Scorpius heaved himself out of the window and was off like a shot, Draco laughing and snapping photos whenever he passed by. When he reached the bottom, he shielded his eyes from the sun and shouted up at Albus.

"Come on, Al, it's so much fun!"

So Albus followed his example and heaved out of the window, and found himself flying around corners and screaming with excitement through the slide, which turned into a tunnel on corners and sometimes went straight through the castle walls themselves. It was the best slide he'd ever seen in his life, and when he reached the bottom, dizzy though he felt, he wanted to do it again. But first Lucius and then Draco joined them at the bottom, Draco having taken the slide, laughing and whooping the whole way, and Lucius jumping from the tower, levitating himself gently to the bottom, and the four males all trudged back into the Manor, where they were immediately fussed over, the women removing their icy wraps and ushering them into the sitting room, where there were steaming pots of tea, coffee, and cocoa. The boys put marshmallows in their cocoa and sat by the fireplace, excitedly filling Eloise and Narcissa in on the events of the afternoon.

The next four days were nothing short of amazing. They visited the labyrinth every day, staying the night as promised once, finding themselves amused by the Malfoy men magically projecting old photos on one of the icy walls and telling them stories of their own days and Hogwarts and old wizard stories that had been told for centuries to children. They made cookies and pastries with two of the house elves, who indulgently smiled and watched as the two boys got in an icing fight, which Draco had managed to snap a few photos of before a great gob of blue icing hit him in the side of the face. The boys helped the house elves clean up afterwards, and then they went outside and had a snowball fight. When they came back in, dripping wet, the women had bustled them off to two of the bathrooms, ordering them to wash up and not return until they looked like prunes. They spent time in the library, especially with the potions lab, trying to brew some rather difficult potions. The adults one day were treated to the most horrible stench emanating from the library more than once, and had to often race into the room to vanish the concoctions from the large cauldron. Draco had gotten a picture of the two boy's crestfallen faces when they had managed to smoke out the entire library.

Finally, the last day of Albus' visit had dawned, as it was nearly Christmas time, and Eloise smiled at Albus that morning over tea after the boys had settled on their plans for the day.

"Your parents and sister will be here for dinner tonight, before they take you home, so don't forget to have your trunk packed after lunch, ok? We've left a few Christmas presents on top of your trunk for you, to open on Christmas day." She glanced over at her husband happily, and Draco laughed as Scorpius suddenly stared up at him hopefully.  
"Unless, of course, you'd like to do so now, and have a bit of an early Christmas...."

The boys needed no further encouragement. They raced off to Albus' room, Scorpius scooping up all of Albus' gifts and Albus pulling six nicely wrapped packages from his trunk, which his parents had owled to him at his request. He'd learnt from Scorpius what his family members liked best, and Albus felt he'd done a good job of deciding what would make good gifts and making them, for he'd decided that homemade gifts would be more fun. The two boys raced back to the sitting room, where the adults were waiting. There was also a small pile of packages on one of the chairs, which Draco explained were a few early presents for Scorpius, to keep him from trying to find out what his other presents were.

Albus opened the first parcel, which was from Scorpius. Inside, there was a book that Scorpius had hand-bound for him, full of illustrations of potions ingredients, which had been drawn by Eloise, and in Scorpius' neat scribe, a list of the properties of each. Albus thanked his friend, admiring the green bound book, leafing through the pages for a moment. He passed Scorpius one of his parcels, and Scorpius let out a crow of delight when he saw the box of simple joke items that his uncle George had taught him to make, along with some simple antidotes, should something go wrong. Albus was passed small parcels here and there, mittens and hat and scarf that Narcissa had worked the Slytherin crest into with silver thread, a silver Slytherin broach which Lucius had explained belonged to an uncle of his, another hand-bound book, this one full of illustrations and French wizard tales translated into English, from Eloise, and from Draco, the best gift of all. When Albus opened the wrapping, he thought it would be another book, but he realized it was an album of the photos Draco had taken during Albus' stay, with a few more spaces available for tonight. Scorpius also got one from his father, along with nearly the same items as Albus, except that his broach was a little more ornate, it having been his father's when he'd attended Hogwarts.

The boys leafed through their albums, roaring with laughter at the expressions Draco had caught on their faces on the slide, and at the photo Scorpius had snapped of his father, covered almost entirely with icing, and Eloise scolding the boys for the mess they'd made, only half heartedly, for as the photo moved, a great glob of icing landed in her hair, having been flicked over from Draco, who then scooped her in his arms and danced her around the room, all laughing. Lucius sneaking a turn down the slide, the photo of which caught him completely by surprise, and the slight sheepish look on his face as he straightened himself in a dignified manner and shuffled back into the manor. Draco promised to snap more pictures at dinner time, and the boys hurried back to their rooms after Albus had given out his gifts to them, which they were pleasantly surprised by.

For his best friend, there had been the box of joke items, and for Desdemona there was a set of crayons which he'd learnt to make for Lily that would only color on paper. For Lucius and Narcissa, he'd made candles with notches on them for time, that released soothing smells or energizing smells for different areas of the home, and for Draco and Eloise, he'd sewn up bundles of herbs from his mothers garden into little sachets for cleaner potions making. All delighted with their presents, they thanked Albus warmly, and they all exchanged warm hugs with the children before they raced off to play.

That night at dinner, the Potter and Malfoy families enjoyed a sumptuous meal of roast pheasants with plenty of different types of stuffings and vegetables, and there were sweets and wizard crackers in the sitting room, where they gathered after dinner. There had surprisingly been no akwardness, even at the beginning, for everyone had worked so hard to make the others feel comfortable that they forgot finally that there was any akwardness expected. They all sat around, the paper crowns on their heads, reading the jokes from the little papers and watching as the children played with the toy dragons and knights that came along with them. The boys were telling Ginny about the labyrinth and Lily was playing with Desdemona, whom she said was like "a real little doll", when Draco made a signal to Harry and the two men left the room quietly. Draco lit an ornate black and silver pipe and Harry nursed a tumbler of Ogden's and spoke first, wanting to break the silence.

"Albus has had a wonderful time here. Thank you so much for inviting him. If it's alright with you, we would like to have Scorpius stay a week with us during the summer, and we would be honored if you would all come along for a few days, as we intend to go camping in the northern wilds of Scotland." Draco nodded gravely, and then his eyes warmed a little at the memory of the past few days.

"That would be quite nice, Harry, if I may call you that. I am glad that our sons are friends. I had been hoping that someday I would have the chance to apologize for the great git I was all through school."

"Likewise, Draco. I was always so quick to blame you when something went wrong. I am sorry."

"Ah, but it was truly me about half of the time, don't take away all of my glory." Draco said with a laugh. Harry laughed along with his former enemy, finding himself liking the man in spite of past prejudices. The two men shook hands and bowed gravely, and as they returned to the sitting room, they both smiled at the sounds of their families talk and laughter.

"Are you planning on attending the World Cup this summer, Harry?"

"Absolutely. The boys and I wouldn't miss it for the world, and the girls wouldn't either."

"We would be honored if you would sit with us in our box."

"We would like that. Thank you."

"Bring Weasley and Granger along too, even if they've had eight kids by now. A Quidditch match just isn't the same if I can't torment someone, even if I only intend to be friendly about it now."

The men laughed as they joined their families, and they told the boys their plans for the summer, to their joy and excitement.


	16. Chapter 16

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Sixteen**

When Albus returned to Hogwarts after a wonderful Christmas spent with his family at the Burrow, Scorpius was already waiting for him in the common room, looking anxious. Before Albus could ask what his problem was, Scorpius grabbed his arm and ushered him out of the room, dragging him to a small, empty classroom nearby. Albus sat down on one of the desks, and Scorpius followed his example, and then got straight to the point.

"Al, I've got some news for you that you might not like."

"Ok, so spill. I can deal with it."

"We have a new potential recruit."

"That's good news, Scorpius, isn't it? Quit stalling and tell me your bad news."

"That is the bad news."

"Well, who is it then?"

"You won't like it."

"Merlin's beard, Scorpius, just tell me already?"

"James."

"Stop kidding with me."

"No, really, I'm serious."

Albus finally looked him in the eye and realized that his friend was telling the truth. His eyes widened and he protested.

"No way, Scorpius! He's such a git! There's no way!"

"There's no way around it, Al. He's got the aura, and you know we need to gather all of them now that something is trying to find us. I've got to find them faster than whatever-it-is can. Sorry, Al, but we have to."

Albus felt his heart plummet as soon as he realized that it was true. They really were in danger now, and they needed to recruit every last earthmage possible to ensure that nobody was recruited by someone else. They had to recruit James. Albus sighed, deciding that the good days would soon be over and that he wasn't unique from his brother at all. He really was just the same. He suddenly felt depressed.

Scorpius looked at his friend with concern, knowing how Albus felt about his older brother, and feeling guilty about the other potential that he was still ignoring. Blaise had been moved into the second years' dormitory to keep him away from Scorpius and Albus, much to their relief, and Scorpius hoped that the time wouldn't come when he'd be desperate enough to recruit Blaise. He felt especially guilty putting his friend through this when he himself couldn't make a necessary sacrifice for the good of the family, but he hoped that it would turn out ok.

"Look, Al, he'll be assigned a mentor and then he'll be out of your hair and it'll be all good, don't worry about it. And he can't be a git with the whole family watching him, right?"

Albus finally nodded, determined not to show his dismay. He resolved that he would act for the good of the family and just ignore his brother as much as possible.

"Have you talked to him yet?"

"No, I'm going to ask Teddy to come with me tonight. I've got someone else that I want you and Seventia to talk to."

"Why me and Seventia? Can't Seventia just go on her own? She doesn't need my help."

"It's a first year, Al. Seventia eats them for breakfast, according to the horror stories I've heard around the school. Having you along will make it less frightening. I'd send you by yourself, but Seventia is better at explaining everything. You always forget parts of it."

"Alright, who is it?"

"Elspeth Agani, from Hufflepuff."

"A HUFFLEPUFF!? What the HELL? Scorpius, they're a bunch of wussies! What use could one of them be to us?"

"Hey, remember when we thought Gerald was a wuss? And look how well he fits and and how much he contributes to the group! You know, sometimes you kind of think like a Gryffindor, no offense."

Albus, shamed by Scorpius' last remark, finally agreed to talk to Elspeth the next day. He sent an owl to Seventia asking her when she would be ok to go with him, and she sent one back setting up a time and place to meet. As Albus drifted off to sleep, he wondered what Elspeth Agani would be like and what skills she could possibly have...

* * *

The next day went by like all of the others, with classes and all, but after lunch was over Seventia was waiting for Albus near the front doors, and the two set off to find Elspeth, who Seventia said would probably be out in the courtyard daydreaming. She was apparently a bit of a loner, so at least they didn't have to worry about waiting until she was alone. She was so absorbed in her daydreams that Albus had gotten a rather good look at her. She was easily the smallest 11 year old he'd ever seen, with long golden blond hair and large, strangely dark blue eyes. Seventia sent Albus ahead a little to say hello, and when he did, she turned and looked at him peacefully and greeted them both by name, surprising him to no end, for he hadn't even introduced himself yet.

"Hello, Albus and Seventia. I've been waiting for you." The girls placid eyes regarded them both rather solemnly. Seventia grinned and knelt down beside Elspeth, motioning for Albus to have a seat.

"So the rumours are true! I had heard that there was a first year in Hufflepuff that had a rather powerful Inner Eye, but the teachers never said exactly who. So how much of what I'm going to tell you do you know?"

"Nearly everything, and I'm definitely in, but I just need to know one thing."

"Ask away."

"You're not going to ask me to predict things all the time, are you? It can be so burdensome. I've tried to keep my Inner Eye a secret for now, because when the others in my house found out, they decided to keep my powers a secret and keep me all for themselves. They're forever asking me the more absurd questions, like who will they marry and what will their scores on their next essay be. It is quite tiresome."

Albus suddenly felt the prod of humour and couldn't resist.

"Can't you already see whether or not we'll ask stupid questions?"

Seventia rolled her eyes and Elspeth simply gazed at him, raising both eyebrows almost into her hairline in annoyance. Albus couldn't resist allowing his eyes to twinkle. This one would be so much fun to bug now and then...if she didn't see it coming and think up a better comeback. Elspeth finally turned back to look at Seventia expectantly, and Seventia did not dissapoint.

"Don't mind Albus, typical boy, doesn't think before he speaks. Of course we will not ask silly questions. I will see to that myself."

"Thank you. Now, I must be going. I can See that you are about to give Albus the lecturing of his life and are currently deciding whether or not to rough him up a little to help the lesson sink in, and I'd really hate to hinder what is meant to be." And with that, the tiny witch walked away, leaving Seventia grinning at Albus' rather scared expression. Albus hastened to pacify what he knew would be an epic rage if he didn't speak quickly.

"Seventia, is there any chance that you would allow me to help you prepare some of your simpler healing potions tonight after dinner?"

Seventia practically leered at Albus.

"Albus, you know there's a meeting tonight for initiates, and no amount of your help will give me half the satisfaction of lecturing you."

"I was afraid that you would see it that way."

* * *

When Albus arrived at the Initiate's Headquarters, having had Seventia following him the entire way, lecturingas promised, He felt the need to trudge more slowly, to put off the inevitable moment of seeing James in the ranks. They were to have more defense practice tonight, led by Brian, which Seventia was excited about, so he found himself being practically frogmarched to the circular building. When they got inside, Albus didn't see James anywhere, much to his relief, and went to join Rose, Andrew, and Scorpius, who were all talking in a corner with Gerald. A few minutes later, Albus' relief vanished when Teddy and James arrived. Teddy, being an apprentice, was the only one not wearing wizard clothing, and he stood out a little from the rest. James immediately walked over to Brian and began eagerly asking questions about defense practice, and when Seventia noticed that everyone had finally arrived, she had to actually walk over to Brian to ask him to start practice, because he and James were so engrossed in their conversation. Brian flushed and began practice with everyone.

An hour and a half later, the exhausted initiates drank bottles of pumpkin juice and sat in chairs, talking to one another. Seventia suddenly stood up and spoke loudly in her low voice.

"Everyone, I have some slightly disturbing news to impart. I was in McGonagall's office this afternoon, helping her mark assignments, when she recieved an owl from the Board of Directors for Hogwarts. It seems they have finally found out about our little prank that we pulled in November."

"That was you?!?" James practically sputtered, looking completely gobsmacked.

"Yes, myself and Scorpius and Albus and surprisingly Dumbledore all had a hand in that," she said, and James suddenly reached over and gave Albus a hearty but friendly punch in the shoulder, saying, "Right on, little brother!" Albus couldn't help but feel slightly pleased with himself, and was definitely surprised to have James praise him like that. Seventia cleared her throat and everyone listened carefully again.

"The Board will be visiting Hogwarts for a few weeks, to determine whether or not McGonagall is running the school properly. If they decide that she isn't, they could have her replaced. This is the second owl she's recieved from the board, but they've decided to actually check up on things this time. We cannot let them think that McGonagall is an unfit headmistress. If she is gone, there will be no one to ensure that we can safely meet with the rest of the family, even when we do find new headquarters. So while the Board is here, we must act as properly as possible, which means that the hall's furniture will have to be returned, and we will have to sit at our own tables. I trust all of you to discuss this with the other students in your houses, so that there will be no trouble. Just explain it on the grounds that you don't want McGonagall to leave. If we cannot do this, the family will be compromised."

All of the students nodded their heads, and as they headed back to the castle, they resolved to seek out everyone they knew to tell them the news. Seventia hissed a quick word to Albus and Scorpius, who arrived at the great hall half an hour later, holding a shoebox in their hands.

* * *

A few evenings later, Scorpius once again dragged Albus to the small classroom, this time holding an armful of parchments and a bulky package that his owl had brought that morning. Albus looked at him, puzzled, until Scorpius rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"That other tunnel, remember? I told you I was going to plan our way into it. Don't tell me you forgot!"

The truth was, that Albus had forgotten a bit. He'd figured that it would take Scorpius much longer than a month to figure out a way to sneak out of Hogwarts and into the Whomping Willow. Albus shook his head and Scorpius, satisfied, began laying out the plan for Albus.

"Ok, I have a plan, which I've written down for you, and I've drawn a floor plan of the school. I also had my father owl this to me."

'This' was the package, which was a rather large, shimmery sheet of fabric. Albus immediately became excited.

"That's an invisibility cloak! My father has one of those!"

"I've heard about your father's cloak. This one isn't half as good as his, but it still works. I found it in an old chest in the attic. Now, this parchment , after the map and the plan, is a list of the places Filch visits on his patrols and when he visits them. Apparently he does it differently every day of the week, but I got Peeves to just tell me what he does on Fridays, as we'll be trying to escape this Friday. So you see, we are supposed to be in bed by 10 o'clock, and at 10, Filch passes our common room first to make sure we're not hanging about the hallway. So after he leaves to go check on the Hufflepuff hallway, we leave and go in the opposite direction. We sneak out to the courtyard and towards Hagrid's. Turn left and there's the Whomping Willow. I listened to Professor Longbottom speak to the tree, and I'm pretty sure I know the spell. Then we're in, and we can explore. We wear the invisibility cloak just in case someone else is prowling along. It's actually quite simple and failproof."

Albus felt relieved, but had one concern.

"What if one of the other Slytherins notices that we're out of our beds and snitches on us?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes, the impatient look returning.

"Easy, Albus. We'll simply roll up all of our other clothing in a kid-sized bundle and put it under the covers. As long as something is there, nobody will be the wiser. What exactly did you DO for fun before coming here?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Seventeen**

The week flew by quickly, much to Albus' consternation, and then Friday flew by every bit as quickly, in a whirlwind of classes and time spent with the other initiates whenever possible. Albus and Scorpius didn't breathe a word of their plan to anyone, and were finding it hard to not talk about it, especially Scorpius, who was excited about how simple it would be to sneak out of the castle.

"I mean really, Al, is that really safe? If we can come and go that simply, who's to say that we're safe here?" Albus and Scorpius rounded a corner, and gasped when they collided with Liz, who was grinning at them in an almost wicked manner. Her hair today was a shiny pitch black and her eyes were a most disconcerting shade of yellow.

"You're never safe, ickle first years!" The boys could do nothing but stare at her evil expression and wild eyes, and both felt a strange sense of wrong, when suddenly Liz' hair returned to its usual purple, as well as her eyes, and she giggled at their faces.

"Gotcha!" And with that, Liz pranced away down the halls, leaving the two boys laughing nervously. Albus spoke first, to reassure himself.

"Liz sure is a character, isn't she?" Scorpius relaxed a little, finally letting his hands stop shaking. He thought there had been something a little strange about Liz's aura, but he didn't want to say anything to Albus (or McGonagall) about it until he'd had the chance to examine it again. He concentrated for a moment, finally feeling the icy sensation leaving the pit of his stomach, and he followed Albus into the Great Hall, where dinner would be served soon.

Scorpius scanned the room for Liz, but couldn't see her at the Gryffindor table, and Brian was seated with James, deep in conversation, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary, but Scorpius felt unease settle into his bones again. Something was definitely not right about this. He resolved that he would seek Liz out tomorrow, just so he could have another look at her aura. Just to be sure. She hadn't been acting quite differently lately, just subtle little things, like the yellow eyes and black hair she'd been sporting. Mind you, with her being a shape-shifter and all, perhaps she was bored of the purple and wanted something different. Scorpius didn't want to be suspicious of his friend, but there was something there that bothered him, and he wished that he only knew just what it was.

All through the meal, the boys chatted about inconsequentials with Gerald, who was more than happy to discuss classes and quidditch teams for the whole time. When the meal was finally over, the three boys headed back to the Slytherin common room, arguing over whether the Harpies or the Kestrels were a better team. Albus' own mother had played for the Harpies for ten years after the war, so Albus was definitely biased towards them, but Scorpius and Gerald enjoyed arguing that the Kestrels were the better team. They argued good-naturedly until Gerald started yawning, and Albus immediately began to yawn rather theatrically, but was forced to tone it down when Scorpius began to snort, trying not to laugh. Finally, Gerald announced that he was ready for bed, and the three boys trudged up the stairs tiredly. They all wished eachother a good night, and with a final "nox", the dorm was plunged into darkness and silence.

* * *

At quarter to ten, Gerald's thin, whistly snores filled the room, and two boys immediately sat up in their beds and looked at eachother. They both nodded solemnly at the same time, and jumped off the sides of their beds quietly, pulling large bundles from under them. Albus pulled the covers over his bundle, and watched as Scorpius muttered an incantation over his bed, flourishing his wand quickly and gracefully. Albus nearly yelped when he saw Scorpius' bed inflate into a boy shape and heave up and down with soft breathing noises, and couldn't help but be impressed with his friend's cunning. Scorpius caught Albus staring and grinned mischieviously.

"It's simple really, watch: _Revita Coverus" _and with the same quick wand gestures, Albus' covers began to 'breathe' as well. Albus was given no time to admire his friend's work, however, because Scorpius was now waving the invisibility cloak at him like a matador. Albus tried to ignore the nervous feeling in his gut and stepped under the cloak, and they left the dorms and finally, the common room, stepping back suddenly as they watched Filch creep by with Mrs. Norris II following closely behind. The first Mrs. Norris had died a few years previously, and the grieving Filch had somehow managed to find a kitten from the same bloodlines, which now followed him every bit as devotedly as her predecessor, if a bit more bouncily. The boys had to try not to laugh as she continually pounced on a loose thread at the back of Filch's trews which got longer every step he took.

The boys followed Filch very quietly for a few minutes and then turned away in the opposite direction, down a completely deserted corridor. They found themselves feeling more and more relaxed with every step and began to make a sort of game of the whole thing, taking turns walking backwards to watch behind themselves for 'spies'. The boys were whispering and quietly laughing when suddenly a door opened out of one of the walls, startling them half to death, and they both jumped, causing the cloak to flutter and land crookedly over them, exposing half of Albus and making a racket when they both accidently dropped their wands.

Out of the door stepped Professor Emerus, who now gazed down at them with puzzlement in his yellow eyes and snatched the cloak away from them, exposing both of them just as Filch came around the corner. Professor Emerus and Filch both gasped at the same time and to the boys' horror, Filch's facial expression changed from surprised to gleeful almost instantly, and he leered down at the boys with a wide grin full of long, crooked yellow teeth.

"Professor Emerus," he greeted, bowing halfway, "If it's alright with you, I'll take these two off your hands and see as they get properly punished for this. Out of their beds after curfew, you know." But his face went from gleeful to dissapointed at Emerus' next words.

"That'll be quite alright, Filch," he said, insulting him by using his last name without the honorary 'Mr.' before it, "As these boys are both in Slytherin and I am their head of house, I will deal with them. But thank you."

Filch trudged away disheartened, mumbling something to Mrs. Norris II about thumbscrews and shamefully pampered students, and the boys looked up at Professor Emerus, their legs quaking despite their best efforts not to look nervous. The teacher scowled at them, his face with its high cheekbones seeming even more fierce in the dim candlelight, and his disconcerting hawk eyes boring into them.

"And as for you both, I don't know what you think you're up to at this time of night, wandering the castle, but I can assure you that no matter who your fathers are, you will be punished just like any other student. Detention all day Sunday with me, and 50 points from Slytherin, _each_! I am so dissapointed in you both. Now, back to your dormitories, march!"

The boys were marched back to their dormitories, reminded every step of the way that Professor Emerus had once served as an Auror in a rather militant division of the Auror office, and that he was still quite fit despite being in his 50s. They marched along at an astonishing pace, and when they finally reached the portrait hole in the dungeons they were quite winded. They stepped inside and the portrait shut behind them, leaving them in complete silence. They looked at eachother akwardly for a moment, and this time Albus was the first to speak.

"Ok, new plan. My turn this time."

* * *

Albus dashed up the stairs two at a time and looted in his trunk for the small wax paper baggie he'd stored there, and then descended to where Scorpius was waiting for him, eyes darting around nervously as if Professor Emerus might be lurking in one of the dark corners, his yellow hawk eyes glowing in the darkness. Scorpius looked at his best friend expectantly, and when Albus passed him the small baggie, he emptied out the contents into his hand and then grinned reminiscently, for there in his hand were the remaining Polyjuice Poppers from that first prank. Albus' eyes were twinkling with pride at his own cunning and anticipation at the fun they were about to have.

"McGonagall said to use them on our own time, which is right now, don't you think?" Albus asked his friend. Scorpius grinned even wider.

"I was just thinking the same thing myself...but who are we going to be?"

Ten minutes later the portrait hole creaked open, and out stepped the two boys in their new, very reliable disguises, and they strolled along at a leisurely pace, not even showing how startled they were when they passed Professor Emerus in the same corridor. Professor Emerus nodded curtly at them both and continued on his way, annoyed, for there before his eyes were Professors Lovegood and Longbottom, two people whom he couldn't stand in the least, and they were acting even more ridiculous than usual this evening, giggling like the pair of fools they were and irritating him to no end. He was immensely relieved to pass them, and was even more relieved when his door was finally in sight and he was able to retreat to his dungeon quarters and get some well-earned rest.

Professors Lovegood and Longbottom giggled once again once Professor Emerus had dissapeared completely, but then an unusually clear-eyed look of irritation washed over Professor Lovegood's face.

"C'mon Al, why did I have to be Professor Looney?" Professor Longbottom uncharacteristically snickered and rolled his eyes in a droll manner at her.

"Because, Scorpius, your plan botched, and now we're using my plan, which will actually work. Besides, I know Professor Longbottom better than you do, and all you have to do to be convincing as Professor Lovegood is giggle and look blonde. And she's not that bad you know."

Professor Lovegood/Scorpius snorted derisively as they exited the castle, breathing in the ice cold night air, and the two figures made their way towards the Whomping Willow slowly, not wanting to startle it into attacking. Professor Longbottom/Albus Froze the tree, and Lovegood/Scorpius spoke the incantation clearly, and the two figures danced around excitedly for a moment when the entrance appeared, and then hurried inside to use the antidote toffees.

* * *

A few moments later, Albus and Scorpius lit their wands and began to ascend the flight of stairs leading up to the large oak door, whose lock Albus skillfully picked using his aunt Hermione's usual Alohomora. The door slid open soundlessly, and they stepped inside, immediately sneaking behind a pile of boxes in the entrance. They creeped on all fours towards a light source, and they found themselves in a comfortable looking sitting room with a magical heater in the center, which they cautiously warmed their hands at. Scorpius examined the books in the shelves and Albus examined the furnishings and decorations doubtfully. Suddenly Scorpius was at his side, whispering very quietly.

"I think all we've found here is McGonagall's private quarters."

"But why would she need two places, when she's got that great big section of the castle to herself?"

"I don't know, but it's the only thing making sense so far."

"But come on, Scorpius, do you really think that McGonagall would have this?"

'This' was a potions lab much like the one at Malfoy Manor, but slightly larger and much grander. The cauldron was a beautiful, gleaming black metal, and all of the little jars and vials in the cupboards were crystal. The boys gazed at it respectfully, not so much as breathing heavily, admiring it's beauty, not noticing the shadow creeping up behind them...

* * *

He'd just gone to his bedchamber to fetch a new book that Minerva had brought him from Flourish and Botts when he heard the soft noises coming from his sitting room. He felt to make sure that his wand was still in his pocket, and crept slowly towards the source. It couldn't possibly be Minerva again; she'd only left an hour ago, and had said that she probably wouldn't be in to see him for another week, much to his relief. He was appreciative of her efforts to help, but could never be used to the constant intrusion.

When he peeked around the doorway, he was shocked to see that the two intruders were mere children, first years, by the look of it. He scowled, and old reactions suddenly came back to him, and instinctively he grabbed both lads by their collars and lifted them up to get a closer look at the little troublemakers...

...and nearly collapsed when he saw Potter and Draco, both staring back at him, positively frightened. He could hardly blame them, as he felt pretty damned close to a heart attack himself. Recovering quickly, he shook them, Potter a little more roughly, and the two boys could do nothing but stare at him, absolutely frightened out of their wits as they looked at the frightening visage before them. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Weren't Potter and Draco supposed to be in their thirties by now? What on EARTH had Potter done to his face? And why on earth were they there, together, in his quarters? He would get to the bottom of this if it were his last act in life.

The man was very scary looking, there was no polite way of saying it. He was about six feet and two inches and very solidly built, clad completely in black robes. His hair was grey and black, about shoulder length, and they guessed him to be about Professor Emerus' age. One eye glared at them, black as night, while the other was milkily clouded and a pale blue, with a scar seeming to run through it over the left side of his face. The blind eye was even more frightening to Albus, who could only stare at it, panicked.

The man snarled and stalked out into the passageway, hauling the two boys with him, robes billowing behind, and his stride never paused once as he spoke the incantation to the Willow, allowing it once more to wave its limbs about. To his great relief, there was nobody wandering the corridors as he dragged the boys towards the gargoyle guarding the headmistress' office. He growled the password, "Mozart", to the gargoyle and the staircase spiralled towards him. He dragged his two charges up that and barged into the office angrily, confronting the headmistress herself, who was in her night robes. She opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her.

"Why the HELL, Minerva, did I just find Potter and young Draco here in my private quarters, which were supposed to be secret? And what the HELL has happened to me? I thought they were in their thirties!"

McGonagall suddenly stared at the man, and then the two boys, absolutely gobsmacked, and Albus thought for a moment that he'd seen the ghost of a smile on her face before she replied.

"Allow me to introduce you to two of our first-years. This is Albus Severus Potter, and this is Scorpius Phoenix Malfoy, both in Slytherin, where they are about to be sent, with a promise of 40 house points deducted and detention with me tomorrow morning. I will deal with you both then," she said to the two boys, who gratefully escaped with Seventia, a prefect, whom Minerva had summoned using a magical coin similar to the ones the DA had used. Seventia glanced at the man with curiosity and he sneered back at her, catching her off guard. She hooked an eyebrow up and marched the boys out of the room, her nose in the air, and as soon as she exited, she turned to the boys and hissed,

"Don't you KNOW who that was?!?"

Meanwhile, in the headmistress' office, the man explained the events of the evening to Minerva, who was still trying not to laugh at the expressions of pure terror she'd seen on the boy's faces, and the insulted one on Seventia's face. When her companion was finished speaking, she broke the silence.

"Well, seeing as you've arrived so spectacularly, you might as well rejoin the world now, don't you think? Besides, there is something that you need to know."

"Good god, woman, I'll never have a moment's peace again! The reporters, the staring. I can't take it. Would that I could die!"

"Now, no need to be dramatic, laddie. You know well that Hogwarts will keep the reporters out, and as for the staring, it's time you got used to it instead of hiding away like that for so long. Honestly, if you're so far out that you'll mistake two lads for their fathers, you need to get out of there."

"I won't do it. I'm returning right now."

"I'm afraid not, Severus. Security has been breached at your home, unfortunately. You will have to stay in the guest quarters for now, unless you'd like your old dwellings...nobody has been allowed to touch them, you know. And besides...there is something that you must know."


	18. Chapter 18

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Eighteen**

Severus hitched an eyebrow up at Minerva, waiting for her to continue, and she hesitated a little, recognizing the look in his eyes. He knew that she was about to tell him something that she'd been hiding from him, and he was angry. She briefly contemplated telling him something commonplace, just pretending that there wasn't really anything important to tell, but she glanced again at his face and knew that the time had come. She took a deep breath and drew up her courage, reminding herself that she was a Gryffindor after all, and began her tale.

"Severus, I know that this will be painful for you, and may even make you angry, but about twelve years after you went into hiding, I recieved a letter from Siobheann."

Severus gasped, feeling the knife twist in his heart as if it were yesterday that she'd left, as opposed to nearly sixteen years. Siobheann. His wife. It had been so long since he'd heard her name uttered by any voice other than his own. His heart ached for her constantly, and he'd cursed his existence, that after all he'd been through, life had once again defied his hopes. And Minerva had heart from her, and not told him. Anger burned in his heart.

"I chose not to tell you at that time, because she begged me not to. She had regained her memories at that point, and was ashamed to learn that you'd gone into hiding in such a bad state. She still loves you, Severus, but she is ashamed that she left you instead of trusting you, her husband, to help her heal. She was afraid and went into hiding herself, assuming a new identity and taking a post at Beaxbatons. She teaches Potions there."

Severus shook his head, his hand covering his eyes. Of course she would teach Potions, what else would she teach? But hope stirred in his heart. He could go and hunt her down, convince her to return to Hogwarts, her home, with him. They could pick up where they'd left off. Why had Minerva not told him of this sooner?

"Severus, I am so sorry. I still hope that she will return someday, but she is afraid that you will be angry with her and not let her return. I tried to persuade her otherwise, but you know how stubborn she is, and-"

"It matters not now, Minerva. I will simply make my way to Beauxbatons and convince her myself. I only wish you'd told me five years ago when you'd first recieved the letter."

"You haven't let me finish yet, Severus. She told me that she was going into hiding because of a threat looming in the wizarding world...it appears to have first manifested itself there. She wanted me to know that she would return when she was ready, and not to try to contact her. But she also charged me with a serious task, and this is what I need to tell you about."

"Bloody woman. I'll hunt her down and show her whether or not I'd be too angry to take her back."

"Severus! Please, this is important! Her final letter was delivered by a small, thin eleven year old girl with red eyes and black hair who was accompanied by Madame Maxime herself, who had decided to retire and had been begged by Siobheann to deliver the child to Hogwarts. You just met that girl not half an hour ago, when she came to fetch Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy. Her name is Seventia Dewar, and she is Siobheann's daughter."

Severus' head suddenly snapped up, and a look of pure anguish flashed across his face. So Siobheann had moved on, if briefly, and had mothered a child. A child that had her strange red eyes. He hadn't noticed the eyes when he'd seen the girl, as he'd been too puzzled by the sons of his former pupils, and too surprised by her boldness, in the curiosity of her stare and the eyebrow she'd hooked at him when he'd sneered at her. He'd decided that she was a rotten girl child at that point, with his usual mistrust of anything that wasn't afraid of him.

"It is not surprising, I suppose. I couldn't possibly be angry with her for finding comfort in someone other than the husband that she couldn't remember. It's only what I deserve, really. I should've done more to help her, but I could only think of myself. So once again, am I to watch a child of a woman I loved grow up?"

Minerva could only stare, shocked that Severus could think so low of himself, that the thought of his wife with another man didn't surprise him. She shook her head sadly and then locked eyes with him, feeling pain at the sight of the emotions on his face.

"Severus my lad, the girl is fifteen years old. Use that brilliant mind of yours."

Severus thought about it for a moment, and as he thought, his pain intensified, pushed closer to the surface by the new overwhelming emotions that were flooding his very being. Shock, regret, hope, fear, and suddenly love, all pushing and pulling at him at once. He stared up at Minerva, a strange light in his eyes that she hadn't seen since the day he'd burst into her office, announcing that he and Siobheann were to be Bound.

"I have a child, a daughter? How can it be?" The wonder in his voice pierced Minerva's heart, and tears fell down her aged face, following the creases that time had left there. Severus looked at her and tears suddenly fell down his own face as well. Minerva opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a small vial of blood. She uncorked it and shook the few drops out onto a sheet of pure white parchment which held the drops instead of absorbing them. She pulled her wand out of her belt and reached out for Severus' hand, to say the incantation to draw a little of his blood and pour it on the parchment beside the other drops.

"When we tested her blood type, I took the liberty of keeping a few drops for this purpose. Severus, this will sting a little, but we'll know for sure whether or not she is truly your daughter."

Severus looked up at her, fear and hope warring in his eyes. She had only seen his face this open a few times, and it always surprised her. Almost as much as the next thing he said.

"Minerva, may I? I would very much like to do this myself, if that is alright."

"Of course, laddie."

He withdrew his wand from his sleeve and pointed it at his hand, uttering something deeply in Latin, and Minerva forgot her excitement as she watched the skillfull way that he extracted a few drops of blood from his thumb and levitated them to the parchment, and then he murmered a little more loudly, and a slight illumination appeared around the drops of blood, joining them together until neither could tell any difference. Then suddenly, the illumination changed to a slight golden color, and the blood flattened on the parchment, sinking in, and then forming words. The words read:

_Severus Snape: father Seventia Dewar: daughter_

Severus and Minerva looked into eachothers eyes for a few minutes, completely silent, and then Minerva couldn't take it any longer, and she crossed the room, pulling the amazed Severus into a fierce motherly hug. When Severus finally spoke, they seperated, both smiling solemnly.

"I won't tell her right away. I will try to let her become accustomed to me first. What does she enjoy, Minerva? Tell me all about her, who her friends are and what classes she is best in. I want to know my child. My child. Seventia." He gazed around him in wonder, and Minerva's heart sang as she began.

"Well, as you know, she's fifteen years old, and already a Prefect, Slytherin House, you'd be gratified to know."

"But of course, how could she not be, with me as her father. " Minerva couldn't help but grin at the proud look on his face.

"Her best class is Potions, and she also excells in Arithmancy and Defense Against the Dark Arts, you'll be pleased to hear. She is also a superb quidditch player, but doesn't play on the school teams because she was ill during tryouts, and she wouldn't hear of them booting someone else off the team so that she could be on it. She attends practices and plays with them though. She has taken a special liking to Pomfrey, and often brews antidotes in her spare time to replenish the stores, as Professor Emerus often finds himself too busy with his research to do so himself."

"I still want to hear more about my daughter, but I must warn you that we will be discussing Emerus in the near future. That buffoon shouldn't be teaching Potions. He has no grasp of the art."

"We can discuss it later, Severus. Anyways, Seventia visits often with Neville and Luna, I suspect because they are willing to tell her stories about her mother's youth. She seems to act as a type of older sister to everyone in Slytherin house, including those older than her, and she has inherited your marvelous way with leadership. Albus and Scorpius especially seem to benefit from her guidance. She asks me often about her mother, and she also asks many questions, trying to trick me into revealing who her father is. Only a handful know, and we all elected not to tell her, deciding that you would be the one to tell her when the time came. That DNA test was just to be absolutely sure. But Severus, there is one more thing that you need to know about Seventia, and I hope you will be pleased."

"What is it, Minerva? I am already pleased with my daughter and am not so greedy as some of you Gryffindors."

"Severus, she is one of us. I always felt that with two such powerful earthmages as parents that there would be no doubt, and she became an initiate only two months ago."

Severus' good eye widened, and then he drew himself up, pride visible in his bearing.

"This news is pleasing. I am safe to assume that she is already Mentored?"

"Yes, Severus, and this will please you even more. Draco Malfoy is her Mentor."

"That is good. I couldn't have chosen better myself. So that young lad that my daughter dragged out of here, that was truly Draco's son?"

"Aye, lad. Scorpius. Little devil that one, but as bright as his father. He is a well loved child, but here at school, some of the other students still aren't ready to trust him yet. He ran into a bit of trouble in the fall with Blaise Zabini's little junior. Mr. Zabini aimed a Sectumsempra curse at Scorpius, who would've died if Albus hadn't decided to pommel Mr. Zabini in his friend's defense. Scorpius was even unconscious, in the hospital wing at the time. I cannot respect someone that attacks defenceless people. Anyways, that is how Albus earned those dreadful scars on his face. They were much worse than that, but Seventia managed to heal them with a salve of her own devising. She creates her own healing potions, just like you did, and she's absolutely brilliant at it. She working towards becoming a healer already."

Severus smiled with pride as Minerva continued to relate his daughter's accomplishments to him. He was absolutely afraid still that she would not accept him, but couldn't help but be warmed by the hope that she would. He had a daughter, a bright young girl that was a Slytherin and a Potions genius! He found himself smiling as he thought that when Siobheann finally returned, as he would give her space to do, she would return to a husband and a daughter, and they would be a family.

When Minerva finally let him leave, unaccompanied, to his guest quarters (he wasn't quite ready to face the dungeon that he'd shared with Siobheann just yet), he passed Seventia as he travelled down the corridor towards his room. They both stopped and he regarded her with a critical eye and was surprised by how much he hadn't noticed at first glance.

Her long, inky black hair was the same as his. The eyes were her mother's. Oh gods, she had his nose, just a smaller version. The poor thing, and she also had his mouth. She was tall for a girl, coming up to about his chin in height, and slender in an athletic way. She was dressed in a plain green sweater and her school skirt and robes, which looked just a smidge too large for her. He sympathized for a moment, remembering that at her age, he himself had been forced to wear robes too large in order for them to be long enough for his height, and not being able to afford tailored robes. He found himself smirking at the quidditch boots that she managed to walk so silently in, and then he caught her eye and they gazed at one another for a moment, before she nodded curtly and he bowed solemnly and quietly, and they went their separate ways.

Seventia stared at the man, awed despite her assesment that he was definitely a git, no matter how brilliant he was. He was quite a tall man, much taller than Professor Longbottom even, and his smirk was quite fearsome with that blind eye and great scar across his visage. His old fashioned robes were pure black, and she could appreciate the quality of the material and the cut of them. The man had presence, despite the fact that he was not per se a man that anyone would want to look at for too long. She had been reading up about him the past two hours before her final patrols and had concluded that he was definitely someone she could learn from, but not very approachable. But she decided that she would rather learn and endure the man's hostility than stay on the safe side and continue trying to not get impatient with Emerus, who was forever trying to contradict the way she brewed, even offering private lessons once. She nodded once at the man, resolving that she would somehow persuade him to teach her in secret. He looked like the type of man that could keep a secret if he wanted to.


	19. Chapter 19

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Nineteen**

A few weeks after Severus Snape had returned to the world, so to speak, everything was back to normal. Snape stayed in his quarters all the time, hiding from the reporters who tried to sneak into Hogwarts and then hiding from the curious eyes of all of the students. Minerva didn't pressure him to come out, knowing that it was a miracle that he even stayed in the castle rather than returning to the Shrieking Shack. She had also very indulgently not punished Albus and Scorpius but rather had decided to look the other way just this once, seeing as it was all due to them that Severus had (mostly) returned. She knew that Seventia was his reason for staying, and so had begun to send him an owl each day with reports of what Seventia had done or said during the day that was of note. Severus had occasionally stepped out and made himself invisible whenever it was Seventia's turn to patrol, and would watch her stalk by with that fierce look on her face. He was immensely proud of his daughter, and was content to stay hidden and simply watch. The more he saw of Seventia, the more he saw of himself, for he noticed that she had many of his mannerisms and facial expressions, and definitely more than her fair share of his character.

Seventia had sensed his presence more than once, but had decided to herself that it was merely the Bloody Baron, and had gone on her way. Nothing had really changed for her, except that she still hadn't gotten a chance to approach the grouchy git to ask for Potions lessons, as he never seemed to leave his quarters. She didn't let it bother her too much, knowing that when the time was right, it would happen. Besides, she had other things to think about anyways, with her OWLs looming on the horizon and the leading role she had suddenly taken with the other initiates.

This particular Saturday afternoon found her in the initiate's headquarters, where the initiates had opted to go to rather than take a trip to Hogsmeade, and they were all seated in a circle, eating cookies that the house elves had surprised them with and drinking their usual bottles of pumpkin juice. They were all chatting about quidditch and brooms or styles of robes and makeup charms, depending on their gender or interests, and as it was the weekend, they were all dressed in casual clothes with no school markings on them, so you'd never guess that they were all in separate houses that despite the new peace were still rather competitive. Seventia had just finished telling Elspeth about Professor Lovegood's Divination classes, and there was a silence in the room as all the initiates watched Teddy and Liz have a shape shifting contest, with much applause afterwards, and suddenly Rose stepped into the center of the circle a bit with a large book under her arm.

"You'll never guess what I found in the Library yesterday!"

The other initiates mock groaned jokingly, teasing Rose about her bookworm tendencies when Seventia, making sure that everyone gave Rose a chance to talk, raised both hands and stared at all of them menacingly until everyone shut up. James was the last to do so, and had earned an extra glare from Seventia, which cowed him sufficiently for a few moments.

"Alright, cousin, show us what you found. I promise I'll be good until you're finished."

Rose blushed at the sudden attention everyone was giving her, and covered her bashfulness by opening the book, which was of handsome green dragon skin and very old. The musty "old book smell" immediately filled the room, and Rose quickly found her dark blue satin bookmark and began to read.

"And here within are the leafe formations of the auras of earthe mages, and their meanings."

Immediately she was interrupted by a buzz of interest, and everyone gathered a little closer to her to listen.

"And the firste leafe that we will mention is the Gorse: that would be for you, Rena and Rhodina! The earthe mage who bears this leafe is the bringer of hope and optimism, and are the gatherers of strength in a Family.

Ash leaves are next, for myself and Brian. The earthe mage who bears the Ash leafe is the bearer of balance and harmony, and is the keeper of universal order, whether in their own family or over all things. The bearer of Ash may also have the power of the seas to command...I wonder what that means? We should ask McGonagall and our mentors to find out.

Liz and Elspeth, you are Willow, which is for 'dreames and intuition, prophecy and divination, healing, and enchantment. Apparently the Willow bearers have the most magical powers.

Oak is the next one, which is for Teddy, James, Andrew, and Gerald, and Albus has it too! This is 'the moste common of auras but the moste vital as well, for herein lies strength and endurance, generosity and protection, justice and nobility, and honesty and bravery."

The four males in question all high-fived one another, grinning widely, and Albus smiled a little, feeling very important for the moment. Seventia finally managed to get everyone quiet again, and gestured for Rose to continue.

"Rowan, which nobody here has, is for 'quickening and the sacred fire, vitality and spiritual strength, and creative inspiration.

Alder is the rarest one apparently. It's shield and foundation, wisdom and inner confidence, and royalty."

Andrew spoke up at this point, after politely asking Rose if he could speak.

"Professor McGonagall mentioned to me that Dumbledore's aura was Alder, Oak, and Holly. Which only makes sense, considering that the Elder wand was of an Alder, or Elder tree."

Rose smiled at her friend and continued again.

"Albus has Oak, Holly and Aspen. We already know what Oak is at least. Let me see...ok, Holly is 'strife and humanity, blood and compassion'...that's a little confusing, and they don't say much else of it other than the fact that most mages who bear it get things happening when the world or a family needs shaking up. Now Aspen...ah, here. Aspen is listening, fearlessness and overcoming fear in others, and is a shield and a light in the darkness."

Albus felt a little bit abashed by all his aura apparently expected him to do, but couldn't help but be a bit pleased with the fact that he might be able to be useful to the family someday, even if he had no mentor.

Scorpius whispered something in Seventia's ear, and Seventia addressed Rose quietly and seriously.

"Rose, what does it say about Birch? Scorpius and I both bear Birch, and you haven't mentioned it yet." Rose looked up at Seventia very sadly all of a sudden, and a few tears brimmed in her eyes. Seventia immediately took the book, which Rose had passed her before burying her face in Albus' shoulder, and Seventia read quietly for a moment, and then recited in a huskily sad voice.

"Birche is for purity and cleanliness, birth and initiation, and sacrifice. They often become high in their orders, but most do not live for very long, as it is determined in their aura that they will die for a person or cause that they love. A handful of initiates and family members with this leafe formation have indeed survived and have died of natural causes, but most do not. Unfortunately it seems that only the strongest initiates and members possess this leafe formation, and every death is an enormous loss to the wealth of a family's power. Oh, this is utter nonsense!"

Everyone snapped to attention, staring up at Seventia in shock. Seventia's eyes were filling with tears, and she angrily stood and stalked out of the building and back towards Hogwarts, to speak with McGonagall. On her way, she passed a presense that she could sense, and she suddenly felt helpless, and fell onto a convenient rock where she sat and vented her emotions to the unknown presence.

"Why me?? Wouldn't you think that I've had enough happen in my life, not knowing who my father is and if he is dead or alive, and my mother leaving me to take care of myself, now I'm expected to die for a whole bunch of people who know about my parents and won't tell me? It isn't fair! So I've been stuck in this miserable life, with people always expecting something from me, and they just keep taking more and more, never asking if Seventia might need something. Oh no, Seventia is so tough, and so strong, nothing phases her and she's been so good considering the situation. And I want to learn from that awful git Snape but there has been no opportunity, and I know I have talent, and I enjoy working on my potions above all things, but there is so much more that I'm dying to learn that I will now most likely never learn with that idiot Emerus around! My life has been so useless! Merlin's beard, if they would just ask once in a while, maybe I wouldn't feel so bad, because after all I do love all of the other initiates, and they're almost like having a family, but what if I die without ever seeing my mother again or without finding out who my father is? They just ask too much!"

And with that, she buried her head in her hands and sobbed, while Severus, invisible, stood beside her, aching to wrap his arms around her and comfort her, but also feeling angry himself. Minerva hadn't told him that his daughter bore a Birch aura! How could she neglect to tell him this? He would never leave her side now, not if he had to make himself visible and follow her around all day. He would protect her, and when the time was right, he would speak to her a bit, and then tell her about her father. But now was not the right time, when she was feeling so terribly put upon and angry. She might even be angry with him for letting her mother leave. Best to wait. When she stood up and ran away to the castle, Severus remembered why he'd been lurking around the forest in the first place. He'd felt a malignant presence in the group that his daughter had assembled with, and he'd immediately followed, feeling great concern at the darkness he felt when the initiates had walked past him. He would investigate for now, and talk to McGonagall later, as it seemed that Seventia would be taking up some of her time.

The remaining initiates all sat around, feeling akward and sad after Seventia's outburst. Scorpius looked terrified, and his mind was swirling with thoughts and panic. He wanted to speak to his father, but his father was away on business, and he couldn't talk to anyone else at Malfoy Manor because they would worry, but perhaps he would talk to Mentor Longbottom when he got a chance. Suddenly, he felt a small hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Elspeth, whose voice then cut through the silence. Her eyes had the most uncommon look in them, and everyone stared at her, fascinated, as she Prophecied:

"Seventia and Scorpius are both, in fact, tied to the same sacrifice. A great threat is looming over us at this very moment, and one of our number will leave us." Gasps erupted from everyone's lips at this, but Elspeth wasn't finished.

"There is potential that Seventia may perish trying to save this one member, but there is also potential that she will live and her aura will change, but it is not a very good chance and the death, if it happens, will be extremely painful, and if she lives, she will have to deal with a great amount of personal trauma.

Scorpius is fated to sacrifice himself for the good of the family as a whole, and there is a good chance that this will come to pass, but it is foggy as to what will bring this about. I cannot see any more than that."

Elspeth's eyes slowly came back into focus, and she asked for something to eat and some juice, as she was feeling incredibly weak but didn't understand why, obviously not realizing that she'd just Seen something. The other initiates stared at eachother, vastly concerned, and all resolved to speak to their mentors about it, with the exception of Albus, who looked at Scorpius, who was pale and trembling.

The initiates all sat in silence, worrying about the future ahead, and unwilling to leave the safety of their hiding place, where they were sure that no one could find them. But they didn't realize that the great danger looming ahead was sitting in their very presence at that moment, invisible to all eyes, except for Severus' mind's eye, which could see the Treat all too well. He followed the children back to the castle, once again feeling his senses tingling with the darkness emanating from the group, but being too absorbed in a plan to assist Seventia to properly investigate where exactly it could be coming from...


	20. Chapter 20

**Albus Severus and the Family Tree**

**Chapter Twenty**

A chilly spring day dawned around Hogwarts, with an ice blue and purple sky scattered with thin clouds. As the sun rose, the frost melted, and those in the castle awoke and made preparations for their day. In his quarters, Severus Snape thought about the conversation he'd had with Minerva about the initiates and the haunted look she'd gotten in her eyes when he told her. In her office, Minerva was working hard to steady herself as she prepared for the Board's visit : they had sent an owl stating that they would arrive that evening at dinner time. In the Slytherin common room, Albus and Scorpius were tiptoeing towards the exit, hoping that conditions would be right for one last prank before the Board visitors arrived. Uncle George had sent them a small but heavy box that was delivered by George himself. George had a pleasant visit with the headmistress and had toured the grounds with Albus, Rosie, James, Teddy, and Scorpius.

The boys emptied a multitude of grey fluffs of some sort, and they waved their wands and spoke a long incantation, and the fluffs scattered and settled into corners. Finally, Albus pulled a parchment from his robes and read, squinting in concentration. Scorpius got impatient with this delay.

"Albus, didn't you read the instructions before?"

"Of course I did! I just don't know how these are supposed to work!"

"Well, we won't find out until everyone else gets up, and I think we'd better go back to the common room so that Seventia doesn't catch us out and about so early...she's been downright frightening ever since the meeting."

"You haven't exactly been sunshine yourself, you know."

"Well, how would you feel if you had a great bloody axe hanging over your head and didn't know when it would drop? But talking to your dad really did help. Whatever happens, I think I'm as ready for it as I'll ever be, and I'll just be really careful."

Scorpius had been having a difficult time accepting his supposed destiny for a while. He felt that if he could only know what was expected of him, as Seventia did, he could face it, but his fate was so foggy, and he had stopped badgering Elspeth about it after she'd expressed her frustration at his constantly asking her about something she couldn't just "bring up".

The two boys entered the common room and slumped into chairs just as Seventia was coming down the stairs from the girls dorms. She narrowed her eyes at seeing the boys awake so early, but said nothing as she stalked out of the room, robes floating behind her. This silence was so unusual that both boys felt distinctly uncomfortable and said nothing for a few good minutes. Then, Gerald appeared and the three boys made their way to the Great Hall, forgetting Seventia in their anticipation for the prank. And as they approached the Hall, they were rewarded with a sight that soon had them aching from holding their laughter in.

McGonagall entered the hall and sat down in her seat at the teacher's table, not noticing the expressions on the faces of her faculty members. She was feeling tired and irritable after thinking about the Board's visit and making preparations for it with the house elves and the staff, and even with all she'd done, she felt as if she would never truly be as prepared as she would like to be. She finally looked up as she sipped at her tea, and saw the panicked expressions on the faces around her. There was an awkward silence and then finally, Neville Longbottom spoke up.

"Professor McGonagall," he addressed her, never having been able to bring himself to call her by her given name, "it would appear that two of the students decided to have one last bit of fun before the Board arrived."

Minerva's eyebrows raised so high at that statement that Neville couldn't help but wonder if they would disappear altogether into her hairline.

"Well, what have they done?"

"It would appear that George Weasley has introduced a new product into his store, professor. A few early rising students have already experienced it, without any harm done to them, but they are somewhat of a nuisance."

Minerva frowned, having a very good idea of exactly who was responsible. It seemed that even after the howler she'd sent George that his products were still finding their way into the castle. She couldn't prohibit the products or their use really, because she knew that it would only make them seem more tempting to the students. She turned to Neville again.

"Well, what exactly are they?"

The doors of the great hall opened and the head girl and boy filed in, followed by prefects and students, and following some of the students was Peeves, who was chortling with mad glee. Minerva knew right away that she wasn't going to find whatever happened amusing in the least bit the moment she saw that Peeves was involved. Then she realized exactly what Albus and Scorpius had done.

About twenty little greyish fluffs floated into the room with the students, and promptly took the form of little bunnies, which hopped around the room for a few minutes. Minerva didn't mind them so much, and felt that she wouldn't scold the boys too harshly, but then they suddenly hopped into the center of the room and formed a large lump, which then separated into five large hounds which scampered around the room, and then they joined again and transformed into one great big hippogriff, which galloped around the room, lightly trampling a few students before it made to exit the hall.

Just at that moment, Severus Snape walked entered the hall, robes billowing behind him. He was on his way to breakfast, having determined that he would protect Seventia best by being wherever she was, and had been forced to stay visible because Minerva had put wards over the hall preventing the use of illusion charms.

The dust hippogriff trampled him, knocking him flat and taking the breath out of him, and it screeched as it galloped away into the corridors, leaving Severus sitting on the floor in a cloud of dust, which then settled into his hair and robes. He sneezed and a large puff of dirt came out of his mouth and nose. But unlike when a student had been unfortunate enough to be "dusted" this morning, nobody laughed when it happened to Snape.

Everybody looked back to their bowls, especially Albus and Scorpius, who knew that a line had been crossed. The only ones that continued to look at Snape were the teachers and Seventia, whose eyes were not haunted for the first time in the past two days.

Snape looked up and his eyes met Seventia's, and he found himelf struggling between astonishment and annoyance, for though her suddenly laughing eyes reminded him sharply of her mother's beautiful eyes, there remained the fact that he'd just been humiliated right there in the Great hall with everyone watching. He tore his eyes away from her and non verbally scourged his hair and robes before seating himself at the staff table, where Minerva had secured him a seat as far away as possible from Emerus, who was daring to let himself be amused at Snape's plight. Snape vowed that he would make the man pay for his impudence.

When the hippogriff fled the hall, Peeves had followed, and Seventia, recognizing the Weasley's style of prank, had also left, to deal with the overlarge dust mote before McGonagall got the urge to do so. When she'd been in the headmistress' office reporting that she'd prepared the Slytherins very carefully, she had noticed that the headmistress was looking older and more tired than ever.

When she finally found the creature resting in a corner, she couldn't help but smile a little and feel reluctant to turn it off the Hogwarts grounds, and Peeves was sitting beside it, gazing at it lovingly, and then he turned his face towards Seventia with a pleading expression.

"Please Seventia, my love, he's so vastly amusing, and I've always wanted a pet. Please, please, please? I'll take good care of him and won't let him out of my sight."

Seventia couldn't resist the poltergeist's plea and assented, on the condition that he keep the hippogriff far away from the students. So Peeves roused the dust animal, which then transformed into a host of salamanders, and he herded them all away, cackling madly. When she turned around to walk to her first class of the day, she nearly jumped out of her skin to see Severus Snape standing right behind her. Though breathing hard, she scowled and launched her voice at him.

"Isn't your thing supposed to be frightening Gryffindors out of their skins? Geez!"

Severus recovered from the shock of her nerve and hitched an eyebrow at her, desperately reverting to his usual habits to get her to stop mouthing off at him like that. Then he realized: the moment he'd left the great hall, he'd re-cast his charms again, and none of the other students had seen him. He gaped at Seventia, realizing that she was exhibiting another talent that he'd passed on to her.

"It's not many that can see through my illusion charms…it would seem that there is more to you than meets the eye, Miss Dewar."

Seventia recognized the tone of praise in the deep voice, and found herself responding to it, but then she remembered that he'd startled her nearly to death and that he had to pay.

"Yes, well, typically I can sense any presence around me, I don't know why, and I hadn't thought there was anyone around except perhaps one of the ghosts." This thought suddenly struck her as familiar, and she thought hard for a second to try to remember why it felt so, but couldn't think of anything, and the great git was speaking again anyways.

"It does not do to boast of our accomplishments, Miss Dewar, but of course you females do seem to be quite intent on trumpeting yours at every opportunity. However, I am conducting some research on countering the Cruciatus curse, something that I have been working on for quite some time, and I find myself in need of an assistant. I have already spoken to Minerva and she has assured me that if you were to work with me once a week, it would not interfere with your schoolwork and other duties. If you are interested, meet me in the room of requirement at ten o'clock on Thursday evening."

And with that statement, he turned and billowed away, thinking to leave before he said anything else that would hurt his cause, but assuring himself that he'd only rebuked her because she was being infuriating. Seventia stood there, truly indignant despite her excitement over one of her ambitions falling straight into her lap. That git! How dare he imply that she was being boastful! She would arrive on Thursday, no doubt about that, but she would make him wait a good half an hour and show up fashionably late. Or perhaps she would send Peeves and his new pet to pay the infuriating man a visit. That would serve him right. As she stalked away, once again heading to her classes, she rounded a corner and collided with Professor Emerus.

Seventia was ready to lambast the professor for not watching where he was going and wanting to aggrivate someone, anyone, to let off the steam from her encounter with that great bat, when suddenly he interrupted her thoughts.

"I am quite sorry, Miss Dewar, I didn't mean to run into you, but I could hear Snape terrorizing a student, and I wanted to make sure that it wasn't someone that couldn't handle that kind of abuse."

Seventia was shocked. Despite her dislike for Professor Emerus, she couldn't help but agree with his intentions, and despite Snape's talents, she did not like him one bit, and was pleased to hear someone finally stating the truth instead of acting like Severus Snape hung the entire galaxy. But she was shocked at what came out of the professor's mouth next.

"I was actually also looking for you, Seventia. I need to talk to you, and I have already spoken to Professor Longbottom to let him know that you would not be in class, and he gave a pardon for that. Will you walk with me into the west courtyard?"

As they walked in silence, Seventia couldn't help but feel a little guilty towards her new ally. She wondered if he had overheard her conversation with Snape and wanted to confront her about these lessons, or perhaps ask if she would be interested in having him teach her. Though he was kind enough, and he was perceptive enough to see that Snape was not quite as perfect as he was written up to be, he was a bit of a dunderhead. Finally, as they sat down on a bench in the courtyard, Professor Emerus said the one thing that Seventia had been imagining coming from different men with different voices her whole life.

"Seventia, I am so sorry that I never told you sooner, but I have taken the liberty of checking your birth records and I had a simple Muggle DNA test done. I am your father."


	21. Chapter 21

Albus Severus and the Family Tree

Chapter Twenty-One

Seventia stared at her professor, all thoughts and words vanished from her mind completely. Professor Emerus was her father? Finally, she realized that her mouth had dropped open, and she closed it hurriedly, swallowing back the sudden rush of anger and hatred that she felt.

Emerus watched the emotions battle in her eyes, and unconsciously stepped back a little. Her reaction was not quite what he'd hoped for, but no less than he had truly expected. Hoping to placate her, he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder in what he truly hoped was a fatherly manner. He was dissapointed when she flung his hand off her shoulder and began to hiss out her anger.

"You mean you've been here all this time, knowing who I was, and you said nothing? I've been here for FOUR YEARS, lonely and thinking I was orphaned, and you just waited there, letting me wonder about who my father was, and still waiting when I was being tormented by some of the others. And just now, you come along and tell me this?"

Emerus opened his mouth to explain, but she glared at him straight in the eyes and hissed one final sentence.

"You are a dissapointment and I wish I'd never known. I hate you."

And with that, she turned on her heel and stalked away, robes billowing in that manner of hers that never failed to make him feel repulsed and uncomfortable. Once she dissapeared, however, he smiled, knowing that she would be back once she was curious enough. He turned in the opposite direction with a satisfied look in his yellow eyes.

Severus was gathering some healing plants in the forest, to begin his own experimentation to possibly heal the great scar on his face, when he saw Seventia fly past on a broom, darting through trees with no difficulty whatsoever. While he had to admire her obvious skill, he hated brooms, and immediately set himself to remedying his daughter's use of one. When she finally seated herself in a nearby tree, not seeing him standing there, he addressed her.

"Miss Dewar, far be it from me to criticize you, but there are other ways that one can get around that are far more efficient."

And with that statement, he made as if to leap, and shot upwards to another tree close to hers, noticing for the first time the angry and bitter look on her face. Her scowl only deepened and her eyes narrowed at him.

"That's dark arts, and you know it. That's a death eater trick, and one that Voldemort was rather known for. I think I'll stick with my broom, thank you very much."

Severus growled slightly and rolled his eyes.

"Surely you're a smart enough girl to realize who you are talking to? Or has hanging around with Potter's offspring caused you to become dull-witted? Of course Voldemort was known for it, but so was I, Miss Dewar. And there is nothing whatsoever that is dark about being more efficient. When one is trying to escape a deadly situation, the few moments you may spend trying to transfigure something into a broom or summon your broom could make all the difference. And of course, it is not like you can march into battle with a broom strapped to your back. Most unwieldy, I should think. But this is your first lesson, Miss Dewar: just because something has been employed by evil, does not necessarily mean that the thing itself is evil. Think about that."

And with that, he alighted from the tree and stalked away, robes flowing behind him in a stately manner that Seventia couldn't help but respect. Her anger completely forgotten, she contemplated his words.

And as Severus stalked into the castle, he nearly ran into a distracted Headmistress. Minerva looked up at him fearfully.

"Severus, Miss Dewar, she is...missing. She hasn't attended any of her classes today. It is most unusual for her."

Severus raised a hand, interrupting her fussing.

"She is in the forest, thinking. Something has obviously made her quite angry. I will keep an eye on her, of course, seeing as she is carrying the weight of a rather terrible possibility in her destiny. Of course she should not be skipping her classes, but didn't you tell me yourself that she was unusually brilliant and in fact could have graduated years ago?"

Minerva nodded, seeing the reason in his words and feeling relieved that Seventia would be watched over carefully. Severus swept back towards the outer doors to go find her, turning back towards Minerva for one last word.

"Anger can be a very dangerous thing, Minerva. I will watch her as much as I possibly can."

And with that he vanished, leaving Minerva alone with the sinking foreboding in her heart just as the Board officials arrived.

Seventia spent the entire day in her perch, thinking on what Snape had told her, and came to the conclusion that he was right, and that she would learn how to fly if he was still willing to teach her. She remembered the way in which he had so quickly managed to find his way up to a perch of his own, and felt the usual thrill of excitement that came with any new learning. Finally, she swung herself down from the tree, feeling that it would be worthwhile to stay here for personal reasons as well as her duty to the Family.

She scowled as she thought of her potions professor, or rather her father, she corrected. She was still angry, no doubt about that, but she had already gone so long without either parent that she had definitely felt the loss. The worst that could happen was that she found out that her father was a complete arse, and then she could leave him behind knowing that she could be better. She set her mind firmly to that thought as she entered the castle and headed towards the Hall for dinner.

That evening, when Severus had eaten the dinner the house-elves had brought him and worked until his eye was blurred, he sat back with a glass of Firewhiskey, pondering the discussion he'd had with his daughter. Her prejudices disturbed him, and he wondered if, when he revealed himself to be her father, she would turn away in disgust as she had from his flight and offer of sharing the knowledge.

As he brooded, a large stately crow soared into the room with a parchment tied to its leg, and he almost grinned, feeling that it must be a message from his daughter, who of course would have inherited his affinity for the much swifter and more clever crows. He untied the parchment from the bird's leg and smiled grimly at the single sentenced scrawled in a hand almost identical to his own.

_I would like to learn how to fly like you do, if your offer still stands._

He folded the parchment neatly and left it in his desk, resolving to begin her instruction the next chance he got.

Meanwhile, in another section of the castle, Seventia was scrawling on one last parchment before turning in to sleep for the night. She tied it to her crow's leg and sent it soaring away to another's quarters.

Emerus opened the parchment and grinned wickedly at the short, curt note in his hand.

_I do not apologize for what I said earlier, but I want to know about my mother. I will come see you after classes in two day's time._

Emerus threw the parchment in his fireplace and leered at the small, mouse-haired girl laying unconscious in the corner.

''My dear, it is almost time. ''


End file.
